Fairer is the manuscript When the reed is clipped; Clearer runs the message, when There's a trimming of the pen. Dimly burns the lantern; but When its wick is cut Perfect will its lustre be Through the wick's deficiency. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MIDDLE-AGED; A STUDY IN EMOTION by EZRA POUND A COLONIAL MORNING DREAM by KAREN SWENSON THE ENGLISHMAN IN ITALY by ROBERT BROWNING A MEDITATION ON RHODE ISLAND COAL by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT THE NIGHT MAIL NORTH (EUSTON SQUARE, 1840) by HENRY CHOLMONDELEY-PENNELL TO THE MEMORY OF MY BELOVED MASTER WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE by BEN JONSON |