To murder one so young! To still that wonder-teeming tongue Ere half the fulness of its mellow'd glory Had flash'd in mild sheet-lightnings forth! Who knows, had that majestic Life grown hoary, Long vers'd in all man's weakness, woes and worth, What beams had pierced the clouds that veil this voyage of care! Not Zeus, nor Baal's throne, Nor Osiris alone, But Doubt, or worse assurance of Despair, Or Superstition's brood that blends the tiger with the hare. Who knows but we had caught Some hint from pure impassion'd Thought, How Matter's links and Spirit's, that still fly us, Can break and still leave Spirit free; How Will can act o'ermaster'd by no bias; Why Good omnipotent lets Evil be; What balm heals beauteous Nature's universal flaw; And how, below, above, It is Love, and only Love Bids keen Sensation glut Destruction's maw -- Love rolls this groaning Sea of Life on pitiless rocks of Law! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE DONG WITH A LUMINOUS NOSE by EDWARD LEAR THE POTATOES' DANCE by NICHOLAS VACHEL LINDSAY 23RD STREET RUNS INTO HEAVEN by KENNETH PATCHEN ITALIAN MUSIC IN DAKOTA (THE SEVENTEENTH - THE FINEST REGIMENTAL BAND) by WALT WHITMAN THE SOFTNESS OF SYBARIS by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS LE GUIGNON by CHARLES BAUDELAIRE THE ARGO'S CHANTY by WILLIAM ROSE BENET THE LOVE SONNETS OF PROTEUS: 60. THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT |