O HAPPY soul, forget thy self! This that has haunted all the past, That conjured disappointments fast, That never could let well alone; That, climbing to achievement's throne, Slipped on the last step; this that wove Dissatisfaction's clinging net, And ran through life like squandered pelf: This that till now has been thyself Forget, O happy soul, forget. If ever thou didst aught commence, Set'st forth in spring-tide woods to rove, Or, when the sun in July throve, Didst plunge into calm bay of ocean With fine felicity in motion, Or, having climbed some high hill's brow, Thy toil behind thee like the night, Stoodst in the chill dawn's air intense; Commence thus now, thus recommence: Take to the future as to light. Not as a bather on the shore Strips of his clothes, glad soul, strip thou: He throws them off, but folds them now; Although he for the billows yearns, To weight them down with stones he turns; To mark the spot he scans the shore; Of his return he thinks before. Do thou forget All that, until this joy franchised thee, Tainted thee, stained thee, or disguised thee; For gladness, henceforth without let, Be thou a body, naked, fair; And be thy kingdom all the air Which the noon fills with light; And be thine actions every one, Like to a dawn or set of sun, Robed in an ample glory's peace; Since thou hast tasted this great glee Whose virtue prophesies in thee That wrong is wholly doomed, is doomed and bound to cease. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ABANDONED RANCH, BIG BEND by HAYDEN CARRUTH YOU KNOW WHAT PEOPLE SAY by JAMES GALVIN PEACE (1) by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE BLIND by EDGAR LEE MASTERS JOE HILL LISTENS TO THE PRAYING by KENNETH PATCHEN TO WHISTLER, AMERICAN; ON LOAN EXHIBIT OF PAINTINGS AT TATE GALLERY by EZRA POUND |