Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, I SHALL KNOW REST, by CHARLES LOUIS HENRY WAGNER


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

I SHALL KNOW REST, by                    
First Line: Rest, rest
Last Line: Then, then comes the rest I seek!
Subject(s): Death; Rest; Sleep; Dead, The


Rest, rest;
Oh, for the golden rest to come,
Pillow of green, sweet moss and tangled grass,
Where fringed gentians wave with the zephyrs that blow,
Where the honey-rich thyme lures the bees' drowsy hum,
Where the birds of the June sing God's peace as they pass,
Where Nature shall phantom all sorrows I know;
This, this is the rest I seek.

Rest, rest;
I once saw the blue on a proud peacock's breast,
And its oscellate tail iridescent with gold,
(The sun lent a rainbow to add to its charm),
And I thought, what a pillow for me in my rest,
I would gather the plumes, oh, so ruthless and bold,
I would cluster the radiant blue in my arm
As down for the rest I seek.

Rest, rest;
In the infant's eyes was the wonder gleam,
And I sensed in its feeble gripping hand
Its voiceless alarms at the unknown things,
And I wondered if I, in a new world, would seem
Cowed by the scenes I could not understand,
Or lost in the wonder the Infinite brings,
Not ready for rest I seek.

Rest, rest;
Soul-Friend of mine, when true rest shall be earned,
And I shall deserve the green-sodded bed
With its marvelous sleep, and my wearied eyes close,
When the lesson of Death and its mission is learned,
Take the clay from my soul, and give me instead
The body that covers the scent of the rose,
Then, then comes the rest I seek!





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