Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, TOWARDS DEMOCRACY: PART 4. WHO SHALL COMMAND THE HEART (1), by EDWARD CARPENTER


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TOWARDS DEMOCRACY: PART 4. WHO SHALL COMMAND THE HEART (1), by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Because the starry lightnings and the life
Last Line: Forsakes this world and seeks a fairer one.
Subject(s): Earth; Life; Universe; World


Because the starry lightnings and the life
Of all this Universe which is our Home
Weave round each soul a web of mortal strife,
Hard is its speech to hear and slow to come

As to one waking from a lonely dream
The friendly taper dwindles to a star,
So to each man men's faces distant seem—
Their dearest words sound faint and very far.

Daily we pass, like shadows in dreamland,
And careless answer in the old curt tone,
Till Death breaks suddenly between us, and
With a great cry we know we have not known

Ah! surely, to have known and to behold
The beauty that within the soul abides,
For this Earth blossoms and the skies unfold,
For this the Moon makes music in the tides.

For this Man rises from his mould of dust,
Ranges his life and looks upon the Sun,
For this he turns and with adventurous trust
Forsakes this world and seeks a fairer one.





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