I did not know -- so awkward I, So fumbling in my speech -- That I had touched a quivering nerve No man might safely reach. A burst, a flash, a deadly blow, A friendship numb for aye, What other end may one expect, If one with lightnings play? | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE OLD ENEMY by SARA TEASDALE GUILIELMUS REX by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH THE SHEPHERD BOY'S SONG, FR. THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS by JOHN BUNYAN TO MARY by GEORGE GORDON BYRON THE MODERN MAJOR-GENERAL, FR. THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE by WILLIAM SCHWENCK GILBERT TALES OF A WAYSIDE INN: THE FIRST DAY: PRELUDE. THE WAYSIDE INN by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW GLOUCESTER MOORS by WILLIAM VAUGHN MOODY |