MEANS death so much? Is it so great an ill As most men think? . . . Birth was not painbestead, And we shall feel no pain when we are dead. Let be! What birth began, death must fulfil. "But thou shalt cease to be!" What then? . . . The chill That leaves our bodies hueless, cold, and dread, Ends feeling too. The fateful Spinner's thread Once broken, there's no longing, wish, nor will. "Thou shalt not eat." I shall have no desire Toward meat or drink. The body by such fare Lengthens its life and our dependency; The spirit needs them not. "But love, the fire Of joy, shall fail thee." And I shall not care. He that escapes desire, at last is free. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE HASTY PUDDING by JOEL BARLOW ALL THAT'S PAST by WALTER JOHN DE LA MARE THE WALLS DO NOT FALL: 4 by HILDA DOOLITTLE FOR AN ALLEGORICAL DANCE OF WOMEN (BY ANDREA MANTEGNA) by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI FRANCE; THE 18TH YEAR OF THESE STATES by WALT WHITMAN HE GIVES HIS BELOVED CERTAIN RHYMES by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS CRY WOE, WOE, AND LET THE GOOD PREVAIL, FR. AGAMEMNON by AESCHYLUS |