|
|
|
Classic and Contemporary Poetry
MUTATION, by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT Poem Explanation Poet's Biography
First Line: They talk of short-lived pleasure - be it so
Last Line: A stable changeless state, 'twere cause indeed to weep.
Subject(s): Change; Transience; Impermanence
First Line: They talk of short-lived pleasure - be it so
Last Line: A stable changeless state, 'twere cause indeed to weep.
Subject(s): Change; Transience; Impermanence
THEY talk of short-lived pleasure -- be it so --
Pain dies as quickly: stem, hard-featured pain
Expires, and lets her weary prisoner go.
The fiercest agonies have shortest reign;
And after dreams of horror, comes again
The welcome morning with its rays of peace.
Oblivion, softly wiping out the stain,
Makes the strong secret pangs of shame to cease.:
Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase
Are fruits of innocence and blessedness:
Thus joy, o'erborne and bound, doth still release
His young limbs from the chains that round him press.
Weep not that the world changes -- did it keep
A stable changeless state, 'twere cause indeed to weep.
Discover our poem explanations - click here!
Other Poems of Interest...
FROM THE SPANISH by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON
CHAMBER MUSIC: 17 by JAMES JOYCE
SOUTHERN GOTHIC by DONALD JUSTICE
THE BEACH IN AUGUST by WELDON KEES
THE MAN SPLITTING WOOD IN THE DAYBREAK by GALWAY KINNELL
THE SEEKONK WOODS by GALWAY KINNELL