Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THOMAS CARLYLE, by ANNIE MATHESON


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THOMAS CARLYLE, by             Poem Explanation         Poet's Biography
First Line: What went ye out to see? A shaken reed
Last Line: To which thine eyes were dim, the light of light.
Subject(s): Carlyle, Thomas (1795-1881)


I.

WHAT went ye out to see? A shaken reed,
Stirred into music by the lyric wind?
Or would ye bow before a regal mind,
Clothed in soft raiment of fair word and deed,
Sweetness and light, strong in the ancient creed
Of faith and hope and love, to bless mankind
With his consummate harmonies, and bind
The world to follow whither he might lead?
Why seek the waste and howling desert then?
Do kings and priests dwell in a wilderness
Of isolation? The Unseen has sent
A voice to trouble the dead lives of men.
This prophet came to curse and not to bless,
In echoing thunders moaning forth, 'Repent!'

II.

ON many a man descends the fire divine;
But foolish souls too oft its purpose foil
With false and idle tasks, that dim and soil
The lamp through which their light was meant to shine;
Or, having squandered, mad with life's new wine,
The precious gift, and, scorning care or toil,
Burnt up too early all the sacred oil,
Their flame goes out: but the pure blaze in thine
Was tended reverently, lest it should waste
In careless splendour such as fools admire;
For all thy work was done with all thy might,
Lessening the darkness, without rest or haste.
Thy spark was kindled in that central fire,
To which thine eyes were dim, the Light of Light.





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