To close the eyes upon a frenzied scene Were a vain solace, whilst that rage endures. This crazy world is old and full of spleen And quickly breeds two ills for one it cures. It will plunge on, till all its treasures burn, Calling lust reason and ambition law. Look, mark, and hold your peace. Can madness learn? Can hot blood hearken to an old man's saw? Truth like a flood has caught me unawares In its dark whirlpool -- truth that, ill-divined, Grudges the wise that mincing love of theirs, But face to face appals the simple mind. All that bland death would cancel and forgive I see with horror as it dares to live. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE TUFT OF KELP by HERMAN MELVILLE THE NAME by ANNA HEMPSTEAD BRANCH A PRAYER, UNDER THE PRESSURE OF ANGUISH by ROBERT BURNS EPITAPH (8) by GABRIELLO CHIABRERA ORIENTALE: 3 by EDWARD ESTLIN CUMMINGS |