Classic and Contemporary Poetry
AN ANCIENT FEUD, by CALE YOUNG RICE Poet's Biography First Line: The young rack the old Last Line: One all to lose. Subject(s): Aging; Death; Fights; Youth; Dead, The | ||||||||
The young rack the old, The old rack the young, The one with a wild heart, The other with a tongue, The one with desire, The other with distaste, 'Til each finds life But a bitterness, a waste. The young see joy, And crave but its breath. The old see tears -- And the end of them -- death. The young cry "We're going!" The old, "You shall stay!" And no goal is worth while, After the fray. The young want tomorrow, The old, days before. The young spend and borrow, The old slave and store. Ever they wrangle thus, Hostile, apart, One all too wise of head, One too rash of heart. Not a generation Is free of the fret; For one can't remember, And one can't forget. So, the same folly, With naught to disabuse One of thinking all's to gain, One all to lose. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A FRIEND KILLED IN THE WAR by ANTHONY HECHT FOR JAMES MERRILL: AN ADIEU by ANTHONY HECHT TARANTULA: OR THE DANCE OF DEATH by ANTHONY HECHT CHAMPS D?ÇÖHONNEUR by ERNEST HEMINGWAY NOTE TO REALITY by TONY HOAGLAND A CHARM TO BRING CHILDREN (EGYPT, A.D. 100) by CALE YOUNG RICE |
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