Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, NOTHING, by RICHARD PORSON


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

NOTHING, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Mysterious nothing! How shall I define
Last Line: And -- like my sonnet -- all in nothing end.
Subject(s): Emptiness


MYSTERIOUS Nothing! how shall I define
Thy shapeless, baseless, placeless emptiness?
Nor form, nor colour, sound, nor size is thine,
Nor words nor fingers can thy voice express;
But though we cannot thee to aught compare,
A thousand things to thee may likened be,
And though thou art with nobody nowhere,
Yet half mankind devote themselves to thee.
How many books thy history contain;
How many heads thy mighty plans pursue;
What labouring hands thy portion only gain;
What busy bodies thy doings only do!
To thee the great, the proud, the giddy bend,
And -- like my sonnet -- all in nothing end.





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