Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, IDEAL, by PADRAIC PEARSE


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

IDEAL, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Naked, I saw thee
Last Line: To the death that I shall meet.
Alternate Author Name(s): Pearse, P. H.; Pearse, Patrick Henry
Variant Title(s): To His Ideal
Subject(s): Death; Dead, The


NAKED I saw thee,
O beauty of beauty!
And I blinded my eyes
For fear I should flinch.

I heard thy music,
O sweetness of sweetness!
And I shut my ears
For fear I should fail.

I kissed thy lips
O sweetness of sweetness!
And I hardened my heart
For fear of my ruin.

I blinded my eyes
And my ears I shut,
I hardened my heart
And my love I quenched.

I turned my back
On the dream I had shaped,
And to this road before me
My face I turned.

I set my face
To the road here before me,
To the work that I see,
To the death that I shall meet.





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