Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE VISIONARY, by MARY ENOLA RUDOLPH


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE VISIONARY, by                    
First Line: They call me mad - a luckless dreamer - I
Last Line: Yet I -- I shall grow old remembering.
Subject(s): Dreams; Nightmares


They call me mad -- a luckless dreamer -- I,
Who hear strange noises round me everywhere
And see mysterious things in earth and sky.
Shall I berate men's murmurings? Forswear
The truth? No, I would wish that it were mine
To see and hear what never eye or ear
Has seen or heard. My soul in close confine,
Imprisoned, strains at its leash for wider sphere
To gain those peerless, matchless heights, even though
The flight dips down through marshland, bog or fen
Where dryads moan as if in dread of slow
But certain doom. Just yesterday, and when
In restless mood, I fled to woods and fields,
I heard a low faint wailing. "Ah," I thought,
"A little child." And in the sky, bright shields
And swords and armored knights held me distraught
With wondering. It was clear noon. I saw
A huge white ship with sails unfurled. A man
(A passerby) saw clouds, the sun, and straw
That winds had carried high in air. I scan
The words, "A fantasy . . . a foolish thing,"
Yet I -- I shall grow old remembering.





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