Classic and Contemporary Poetry
BEYOND THE HOUR, by MONROE HEATH First Line: These hills have stood too long Last Line: Than linger, broken and diminished. Subject(s): Beauty; Past; Time | ||||||||
These hills have stood too long. Behold them now subdued and even, With not one crest aspiring heaven. Crumbled, ancient, and decayed, The ridges rise without a thrust Wearily, wearily, as if they must Persist and claim half-hearted Some trace of glory, now departed. They are too old for sorrow; Too worn, too humbled to command A pang of grief. We can only stand And pity, knowing neither moon Nor mist nor storm nor autumn splendor Can reinvest them with the tender Or terrible beauty they Compelled in a remoter day. Better were they laid low, Shattered by winds and sun and rains, Dust of the dust in prostrate plains, Till time resurging waken them. Nothing should last beyond the hour Of beauty, usefulness, or power; Better the thing be finished Than linger, broken and diminished. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ELEVEN EYES: FINAL SECTION by LYN HEJINIAN THE FATALIST: COME OCTOBER by LYN HEJINIAN THE FATALIST: HOME by LYN HEJINIAN THE FATALIST: TIME IS FILLED by LYN HEJINIAN SLOWLY: I FREQUENTLY SLOWLY WISH by LYN HEJINIAN ALL THE DIFFICULT HOURS AND MINUTES by JANE HIRSHFIELD A DAY IS VAST by JANE HIRSHFIELD FROM THIS HEIGHT by TONY HOAGLAND TO WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS ON TAGORE by MARIANNE MOORE |
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