I DRINK the foaming chalice, The cup of earth's renown. I hear the people's plaudits, I wear the city's crown. And I look back, recalling The path whereby I came — From the old dreams of boyhood, On to this goal of fame. The old, kind dreams of boyhood, So generous and brief: How long before the noonday They withered as a leaf! The dreams of eager service, Of perfect brotherhood, Of a vast people's freedom: A universal good! A vain remembrance stirs me, A trouble alien — I see the men and women Who lived and died for men. And on my life's achievement They look with steadfast eyes, Where dwells the deep compassion I bartered for earth's prize. They pass, a mighty army, From every race and age — The just who died for justice And asked no other wage. The chivalrous, the loyal, Who drew diviner breath — They whom the word dreamed conquered, Who conquered sin and death. And though the people's laurels About my brow I bind — I know they sought a city That I shall never find. They sought a timeless city, From fear and hate withdrawn. Its light upon their faces Was dearer than the dawn. They climbed the large, steep pathway, By saints and heroes trod, To the home of the ideal, And to the mount of God. Peace! 't is the idlest vision That e'er was deemed sublime; That spiritual city Shall ne'er be reared in time. I face the glowing present, And all my sky is clear — The story of my triumph The nations pause to hear. Only in dreams there rises The city alien, Where pass the men and women Who lived and died for men. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...LOW BAROMETER by ROBERT SEYMOUR BRIDGES ALL THAT'S PAST by WALTER JOHN DE LA MARE PUTTIN' THE BABY AWAY by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR THE HOUSE-TOP; A NIGHT PIECE by HERMAN MELVILLE FAREWELL OF A VIRGINIA SLAVE MOTHER TO HER DAUGHTERS SOLD INTO BONDAGE by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER |