Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

JADE by EDITH WHARTON

First Line: THE PATIENT CRAFTSMAN OF THE EAST WHO MADE
Last Line: SHALL CARVE IT IN A SHAPE FOR GODS TO USE.
Subject(s): JADE;
THE patient craftsman of the East who made
His undulant dragons of the veined jade,
And wound their sinuous volutes round the whole
Pellucid green redundance of the bowl,
Chiseled his subtle traceries with the same
Keen stone he wrought them in.
Nor praise, nor blame,
Nor gifts the years relinquish or refuse,
But only a grief commensurate with thy soul,
Shall carve it in a shape for gods to use.



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