Classic and Contemporary Poetry
MANHOOD, by HENRY DAVID THOREAU Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: I love to see the man, a long-lived child Last Line: From the recesses of a brave man's eye. Subject(s): Gays & Lesbians | ||||||||
I love to see the man, a long-lived child, As yet uninjured by all worldly taint As the fresh infant whose whole life is play. 'Tis a serene spectacle for a serene day; But better still I love to contemplate The mature soul of lesser innocence, Who hath travelled far on life's dusty road Far from the starting point of infancy And proudly bears his small degen'racy Blazon'd on his memorial standard high Who from the sad experience of his fate Since his bark struck on that unlucky rock Has proudly steered his life with his own hands. Though his face harbors less of innocence Yet there do chiefly lurk within its depths Furrowed by care, but yet all over spread With the ripe bloom of a self-wrought content Noble resolves which do reprove the gods And it doth more assert man's eminence Above the happy level of the brute And more doth advertise me of the heights To which no natural path doth ever lead No natural light can ever light our steps, -- But the far-piercing ray that shines From the recesses of a brave man's eye. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...FEMALE MASCULINITY by WAYNE KOESTENBAUM THE ASS FESTIVAL by WAYNE KOESTENBAUM THE BOOK OF SCAPEGOATS by WAYNE KOESTENBAUM DOSSIER OF IRRETRIEVABLES by WAYNE KOESTENBAUM THIS ONE'S FOR YOU by JAN HELLER LEVI I KNOW MY HUSBAND'S BODY by TIMOTHY LIU |
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