Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE ALTAR, by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE ALTAR, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Alone, remote, nor witting where I went
Last Line: That burns, and must burn somehow for the best.
Subject(s): Religion; Theology


Alone, remote, nor witting where I went,
I found an altar builded in a dream --
A fiery place, whereof there was a gleam
So swift, so searching, and so eloquent
Of upward promise, that love's murmur, blent
With sorrow's warning, gave but a supreme
Unending impulse to that human stream
Whose flood was all for the flame's fury bent.

Alas! I said, -- the world is in the wrong.
But the same quenchless fever of unrest
That thrilled the foremost of that martyred throng
Thrilled me, and I awoke . . . and was the same
Bewildered insect plunging for the flame
That burns, and must burn somehow for the best.




Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net