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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
SINCERITIES, by WILLIAM ROSE BENET Poet Analysis Poet's Biography
First Line: I praised myself for nimble wit
Last Line: Than I may hope to be.
Subject(s): Sincerity
First Line: I praised myself for nimble wit
Last Line: Than I may hope to be.
Subject(s): Sincerity
I praised myself for nimble wit.
I viewed my jest with pride.
But a rock-spring was bubbling it,
And subtler jests beside.
My breathless ardor was my boast,
That raced the heights along,
Till a great wind from off the coast
Drowned it in sound and song.
I preened me on my mood serene,
And knew that mood was none
Beside the quietude of green
Hill-meadows in the sun.
My rational armor seemed of proof,
Yet who could hope to be
Reticent as the clouds aloof,
As stoic as a tree?
Where the sincerities possess
Mountain and wood and dune
My fool-bells of self-consciousness
Went jangling out of tune.
Gladder than I each flower is still,
Nobler are wind and sea,
More reverent is every hill
Than I may hope to be.
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