Joy came from heaven, for men were mad with pain, And sought a mansion on this earth below; He could not settle on the wrinkled brow, Close-gather'd to repel him; and, again, Upon the cheek he sought repose in vain; He found that pillow all too chill and cold, Where sorrow's streams might float him from his hold, Caught sleeping in their channel. Th' eye would fain Receive the stranger on her slippery sphere, Where life had purer effluence than elsewhere, But where no barrier might forbid the tear To sweep it, when it listed. So not there He staid, nor could the lips his couch prepare, Shifting untenably from smile to sneer. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SELF-REJECTED by JEAN STARR UNTERMEYER TO TIRZAH, FR. SONGS OF EXPERIENCE by WILLIAM BLAKE THE COASTERS by THOMAS FLEMING DAY WHERE SHALL THE BABY'S DIMPLE BE? by JOSIAH GILBERT HOLLAND FOR YOU O DEMOCRACY by WALT WHITMAN THOUGHT OF A BRITON ON THE SUBJUGATION OF SWITZERLAND by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH THE SCOTTISH CHRISTMAS by WILLIAM EDMONSTOUNE AYTOUN |