Yes, pray thy God to give, whate'er thou art, Some work to be by thee with reverence wrought: Some trumpet note obeyed, some good fight fought, Ere thou lay down thy weapons and depart. Brood on thyself, until thy lamp be spent; Bind all thy force to compass and invent; But shun the reveries of voluptuous thought, Day-musings, the floralia of the heart And vain imaginations: else may start Beside the portals of thy tower or tent, Rending thy trance with dissonant clang and jar, A summons that shall drive thee wild to hear-- Loud, as when in the dreaming conqueror's ear Antigenidas blew a point of war. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A COLONIAL MORNING DREAM by KAREN SWENSON TO HIS WIFE ON THE 16TH ANNIVERSARY OF HER WEDDING DAY, WITH A RING by SAMUEL BISHOP LORD WALTER'S WIFE by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING THE RIDE-BY-NIGHTS by WALTER JOHN DE LA MARE FESTOONS OF FISHES by ALFRED FRANCIS KREYMBORG AFTER LONG SILENCE by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS |