Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE BEARER OF EVIL TIDINGS, by ROBERT FROST Poet's Biography Last Line: What soon enough he would know? Subject(s): Messages & Messengers | ||||||||
The bearer of evu tidIngs, When he was halfway there, RClnembered that evil tidings Were a dangerous thing to bear. So when he came to the parting Where one road led to the throne And one went off to the mountains And into the wild unknown, He took the one to the mountains. He ran through the Vale of Cashmere, He ran through the rhododendrons Till he came to the land of Pamir. And there in a precipice valley A girl of his age he met Took him home to her bower, Or he might be running yet. She taught him her tribe's religion: How ages and ages SInce A princess en route from China To marry a Persian prince Had been found with child; and her army Had come to a troubled halt. And though a god was the father And nobody else at fault, It had seemed discreet to remain there And neIther go on nor back. So they stayed and declared a village There in the land of the Yak. And the child that came of the pnncess Estabhshed a royal line, And lus mandates were gIven heed to Because he was born divIne And that was why there were people On one Himalayan shelf; And the bearer of evIl tidmgs Decided to stay there hImself. At least he had this ill common WIth the race he chose to adopt: They had both of them had theIr reasons For stopping where they had stopped. As for his evil tidings, Belshazzar's overthrow, Why hurry to tell Belshazzar, What soon enough he would know? | Discover our poem explanations - click here!Other Poems of Interest...SPEECH TO A CROWD by ARCHIBALD MACLEISH INFO; FOR JOE CARDARELLI by ANSELM HOLLO HOW THEY BROUGHT THE GOOD NEWS FROM GHENT TO AIX by ROBERT BROWNING BILLY, HE'S IN TROUBLE by JAMES BARTON ADAMS THE LAST MAN: RECEPTION OF EVIL TIDINGS by THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES THE MESSENGER by WILLIAM ROSE BENET AN EPISTLE THROWN INTO A RIVER IN A BALL OF WAX by WILLIAM BROWNE (1591-1643) |
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