Sweet as the lawn beneath his sandalled tread, Or the scarce rippled stream beneath his oar, So gently buffeted it laughed the more, His life was, and the few blithe words he said. One or two poets read he, and reread; One or two friends with boyish ardour wore Close to his heart, incurious of the lore Dodonian woods might murmur overhead. Ah, demons of the whirlwind, have a care, What, trumpeting your triumphs, ye undo! The earth once won, begins your long despair That never, never is his bliss for you. He breathed betimes this clement island air And in unwitting lordship saw the blue. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...IN HOSPITAL: 10. STAFF NURSE: NEW STYLE by WILLIAM ERNEST HENLEY THE ARGUMENT OF HIS BOOK by ROBERT HERRICK EPITAPHS OF THE WAR, 1914-18: A DEAD STATESMAN by RUDYARD KIPLING IN TIME OF GRIEF by LIZETTE WOODWORTH REESE THE MORAL WARFARE by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER THE MORAL FABLES: THE FOX AND THE WOLF by AESOP RESIGNATION by AUGUSTE ANGELLIER |