Classic and Contemporary Poetry
PRAETERITA EX INSTANTIBUS, by WILLIAM DOUW LIGHTHALL Poet's Biography First Line: How strange it is that, in the after age Last Line: "and men will say, ""thus did the men of yore." Alternate Author Name(s): Schuyler-lighthall, William Douw Subject(s): Time | ||||||||
HOW strange it is that, in the after age, -- When Time's clepsydra will be nearer dry, That all the accustomed things we now pass by Unmarked, because familiar, shall engage The antique reverence of men to be; And that quaint interest which prompts the sage The silent fathoms of the past to gauge Shall keep alive our own past memory, Making all great of ours, the garb we wear, Our voiceless cities, reft of roof and spire, The very skull whence now the eye of fire Glances bright sign of what the soul can dare. So shall our annals make an envied lore, And men will say, "Thus did the men of yore." | 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 THE BATTLE OF LA PRAIRIE, 1691 by WILLIAM DOUW LIGHTHALL |
|