Do I regret the past? Would I again live o'er The morning hours of life? Nay, William, nay, not so! In the warm joyaunce of the summer sun I do not wish again The changeful April day. Nay, William, nay, not so! Safe haven'd from the sea I would not tempt again The uncertain ocean's wrath. Praise be to him who made me what I am, Other I would not be. Why is it pleasant then to sit and talk Of days that are no more? When in his own dear home The traveller rests at last, And tells how often in his wanderings The thought of those far off Has made his eyes o'erflow With no unmanly tears; Delighted, he recalls Through what fair scenes his charmed feet have trod. But ever when he tells of perils past, And troubles now no more, His eyes most sparkle, and a readier joy Flows rapid to his heart. No, William, no, I would not live again The morning hours of life; I would not be again The slave of hope and fear; I would not learn again The wisdom by experience hardly taught. To me the past presents No object for regret; To me the present gives All cause for full content;— The future,—it is now the cheerful noon, And on the sunny-smiling fields I gaze With eyes alive to joy; When the dark night descends, My weary lids I willingly shall close, Again to wake in light. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HILL-SIDE TREE by MAXWELL BODENHEIM BINSEY POPLARS (FELLED 1879) by GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS SING-SONG; A NURSERY RHYME BOOK: 92 by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI THE DISCOVERY; SONNET by JOHN COLLINGS SQUIRE HE REMEMBERS FORGOTTEN BEAUTY by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS SHRODON FEAR: THE VU'ST PEART by WILLIAM BARNES |