Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE JEST, by ROYALL HENDERSON SNOW


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE JEST, by                    
First Line: Stalking down stone corridors
Last Line: See if the old gods will enjoy it!
Subject(s): Humanity


Stalking down stone corridors,
Armored as old knights
Walking on crenelated walls
In safety,
Come the old gods
Blurred in misty ages
Of whispered talk;
And come also the new spectres:
Evolution, Heredity, Fatalistic-Psychology.

Walking in safety on crenelated battlements
They shatter laughter, crisp
As the shatter of icicles,
Over humanity.
It's a good jest—Humanity—
Made for the old gods and new spectres,
And they laugh heartily
While their walls are unavailingly besieged.

Catching hurricane gales
In butterfly nets
Is no more profitless, mankind;
Stop storming intangible walls
Stronger than steel!
Have a jest of your own:
Fashion new worlds and be gods to them,
For creation is only the blowing
Of warm breath on never-seen eyelids;
Easily done. Merely try it. ...
Only be kind toward your puppets;
To win love your own gods
Can never command.
There's a new jest, not a harsh one—
See if the old gods will enjoy it!





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