AS the young phœnix, duteous to his sire, Lifts in his beak the creature he has been, And, lifting o'er the corse broad vans for screen, Bears it to solitudes, erects a pyre, And, soon as it is wasted by the fire, Grids with disdainful claw the ashes clean; Then spreading unencumbered wings serene Mounts to the æther with renewed desire: So joyously I lift myself above The life I buried in hot flames to-day. The flames themselves are dead: and I can range Alone through the untarnished sky I love, And I trust myself, as from the grave I may, To the enchanting miracles of change. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DOWN BY THE CARIB SEA: 2. LOS CIGARILLOS by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON PISCATAQUA RIVER by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH THE VIRGINIANS OF THE VALLEY by FRANCIS ORRERY TICKNOR THE CRACKED BELL by CHARLES BAUDELAIRE SANDY STAR: 2. LAUGHING IT OUT by WILLIAM STANLEY BRAITHWAITE |