Classic and Contemporary Poetry
LONGING, by JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: Of all the myriad moods of mind Last Line: Howe'er we fail in action. Subject(s): Longing | ||||||||
OF all the myriad moods of mind That through the soul come thronging, Which one was e'er so dear, so kind, So beautiful as Longing? The thing we long for, that we are For one transcendent moment, Before the Present poor and bare Can make its sneering comment. Still, through our paltry stir and strife, Glows down the wished Ideal, And Longing moulds in clay what Life Carves in the marble Real; To let the new life in, we know, Desire must ope the portal; -- Perhaps the longing to be so Helps make the soul immortal. Longing is God's fresh heavenward will With our poor earthward striving; We quench it that we may be still Content with merely living; But, would we learn that heart's full scope Which we are hourly wronging, Our lives must climb from hope to hope And realize our longing. Ah! let us hope that to our praise Good God not only reckons The moments when we tread his ways, But when the spirit beckons, -- That some slight good is also wrought Beyond self-satisfaction, When we are simply good in thought, Howe'er we fail in action. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ABOARD! ABOARD! by DONALD JUSTICE CHANEL NO. 5 by LAURE-ANNE BOSSELAAR UNABLE TO FIND by LAURE-ANNE BOSSELAAR THE WOMEN WITH FABLED HAIR by MADELINE DEFREES WE WHO WERE EXECUTED by FAIZ AHMED FAIZ SHE WRITES TO THE MAN WHO WRITES OF HER IN HIS POEMS by LINDA GREGG AFTER THE BURIAL by JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL |
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