Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, IN THE SHADOWS: 2, by DAVID GRAY (1838-1861)


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

IN THE SHADOWS: 2, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: If it must be; if it must be, o god!
Last Line: The law of life in patience till the day.
Variant Title(s): I Die, Being Young
Subject(s): Death; Youth; Dead, The


If it must be; if it must be, O God!
That I die young, and make no further moans;
That, underneath the unrespective sod,
In unescutcheoned privacy, my bones
Shall crumble soon, -- then give me strength to bear
The last convulsive throe of too sweet breath!
I tremble from the edge of life, to dare
The dark and fatal leap, having no faith,
No glorious yearning for the Apocalypse;
But like a child that in the night-time cries
For light, I cry; forgetting the eclipse
Of knowledge and our human destinies.
O peevish and uncertain soul! obey
The law of life in patience till the Day.





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