HIS verse was carved in ivory forms, undying As those that deck the marble Phidian frieze. Over his plaintive hearse to-night is flying A phantom genius from the Cyclades. It hovers till our idle rites be over; And then will bear him in its arms away To islands cinctured by the sun, their lover, And spicy woodlands thrilled with fiery day. There his dark hours of toil shall drop, forgotten; There all he loved, simple and calm and grand -- All the white creatures by his Muse begotten -- Shall cluster round him in a stately band. Then shall he smile, appeased by sovereign beauty, Contented that he strove and waited long, Since in those worlds where loveliness is duty His bronze and marble leap to life and song. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...FOR OUR BETTER GRACES by JAMES GALVIN SPRING BLIZZARD by JAMES GALVIN EVENTIDE by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON GETHSEMANE by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON ILLUSIONS by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON AN EXPLANATION by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON DOWN BY THE CARIB SEA: 6. SUNSET IN THE TROPICS by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON |