Who shall say it is vain that the dappled shadows of heaven pass over the singing hills? that the dark hounds of the sky trace mournfully and aloof the enchanted plain? that love is at once a cry for the seizing of life, and a food, and an herb that kills? Better the unseen chain, better the savor of bitter grass and the cloudy leaven of fire, and the salt of tears in the loaf we share than the stark loneliness of rain and the confession of the ultimate gray shadows, the implacable dark wisdom of despair. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE RIVALS by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON METRICAL FEET by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE ALICE IN WONDERLAND: THE WALRUS AND THE CARPENTER by CHARLES LUTWIDGE DODGSON THE FINDING OF LOVE by ROBERT RANKE GRAVES AFTER THE LAST BREATH (J.H. 1813-1904) by THOMAS HARDY ODE ON MELANCHOLY by JOHN KEATS FOR 'OUR LADY OF THE ROCKS' (BY LEONARDO DA VINCI) by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI |