OLD, dilapidated, grey; no longer a light-giver, The stone lantern, or that which was once a lantern, Stands neglected in the corner of the garden; Lichened-over, crumbling, stones slipping one from the other, So that men can no more stand in reverend awe Before the sacred symbols that once these stones signified. To-day its glory consists in this: it is the support Of a morning-glory vine, that but for the broken stones Would trail in the dust, trodden under foot, A thing of hideousness, a smear of green slime on the @3geta.@1 Instead of the heaven-reflecting joy that to-day smiles in the sunshine. So does the old lantern still serve a purpose. And so shall I believe that I do; I, whose life has been broken, who am to a woman What that old heap of stones is to a lantern new-made, Glowing with light that men love in lanterns and in women's eyes. For I, too, can act as a support, and shall, To that fair young woman Whom my lord has brought into the house To bring light and perfume. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CHAMBER MUSIC: 22 by JAMES JOYCE CONTRA MORTEM: THE STONE by HAYDEN CARRUTH SISTER MARIA CELESTE, GALILEO'S DAUGHTER, WRITES TO FRIEND by MADELINE DEFREES SAVORING THE PAST by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON SEPARATION by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE MIDDLETON PLACE by AMY LOWELL |