IF I had known, dear Master, when of late I held thy hand within my own to say The thousand things I'd thought of on the way, But sheer forgot for very awe to state;— If I had known the summons was so near And that thy presence never more would grace The little room that was the trysting place Of every scholar, booklover and seer That came from North, from South, from East, and West To call himself thy pupil and be blest— I fain would have besought thee to allow My unclean lips to kiss the wizard hand That made of learning such a wonderland, And lost its matchless cunning only now. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CONTRA MORTEM: THE SUMMER by HAYDEN CARRUTH PARAGRAPHS: 16 by HAYDEN CARRUTH WE CAN'T WRITE OURSELVES INTO ETERNAL LIFE by DAVID IGNATOW THE POET SPEAKS by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON TIRED by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON TO W.E.B. DUBOIS - SCHOLAR by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON |