I LIKE to meet a gray Ulysses Who's wandered o'er this marvelous globe And faced such scenes of bane and bliss, he's Arrayed in wisdom--'tis his robe. He may not tell me what this nation, That hazard wild, to him has taught; Yet gleams from him some intimation Of what in his deep soul's inwrought. I know one wiser still from travel Who's ranged beyond the utmost star, Who can (if any can) unravel The meanings of the things that are. Why 'tis that joys and woes so leaven Our fitful days, her words ne'er tell; But any mother has crooned in heaven, And every mother has walked through hell. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...IN THE MOONLIGHT by THOMAS HARDY SONNET TO ALISA ROCK by JOHN KEATS THE FUNERAL TREE OF THE SOKOKIS by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER AN INVENTORY OF THE FURNITURE IN DR. PRIESTLEY'S STUDY by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD |