Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ACTION, by JAMES OPPENHEIM


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ACTION, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: There comes a moment when to believe is not enough
Last Line: Much of greatness has passed, still-born...


THERE comes a moment when to believe is not enough,
When to go on merely feeling and thinking is inexcusable...
There comes a moment when we must out and act.

For at the last
We must pass thought through matter, giving it flesh.
That is the act of creation, that only Life:
That is what the world means with its physical beauty,
And what our bodies mean, projected, solid...
Passion has become lips and arms, and the billowing seas...

Many scholars have died of this malady,
Many dreamers have rotted in cloistered safety,
Much of greatness has passed, still-born...





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