POOR and inadequate the shadow-play Of gain and loss, of waking and of dream, Against life's solemn background needs must seem At this late hour. Yet, not unthankfully, I call to mind the fountains by the way, The breath of flowers, the bird-song on the spray, Dear friends, sweet human loves, the joy of giving And of receiving, the great boon of living In grand historic years when Liberty Had need of word and work, quick sympathies For all who fail and suffer, song's relief, Nature's uncloying loveliness; and chief, The kind restraining hand of Providence, The inward witness, the assuring sense Of an Eternal Good which overlies The sorrow of the world, Love which outlives All sin and wrong, Compassion which forgives To the uttermost, and Justice whose clear eyes Through lapse and failure look to the intent, And judge our frailty by the life we meant. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...PHANTOM by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE THE DEATH-BED by SIEGFRIED SASSOON ASTROPHEL AND STELLA: 24 by PHILIP SIDNEY THE FRAILTY OF MAN'S LIFE by PHILIP AYRES GRAVE OF HOWARD by WILLIAM LISLE BOWLES TO TERRAUGHTY, ON HIS BIRTHDAY by ROBERT BURNS |