AS in a theatre the amused sense Beholds the strange vicissitudes of things, Young Damon's loves, the fates of clowns and kings, And all the motley of the gay pretence -- Beholds, and on an acme of suspense Stands vibrant till the curtain falls, door swings, Lights gutter, and the weary murmurings Of o'er-watched varlets intimate us thence: Even so we gaze not on the things that are, Nor aught behold but what is adumbrate. The show is specious, and we laugh and weep At what is only meant spectacular; And when the curtain falls, we may not wait: Death takes the lights, and we go home to sleep. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A DEAD HARVEST (IN KENSINGTON GARDENS) by ALICE MEYNELL A VISION UPON [THIS CONCEIT] OF THE FAERIE QUEENE (2) by WALTER RALEIGH CONSIDER by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI IN A ROSE GARDEN by JOHN BENNETT (1865-1956) MANCHESTER BY NIGHT by MATHILDE BLIND THE AGNOSTIC by MATHILDE BLIND THE ETERNAL TRIANGLE by EMMA BOWERS TO MR. D'URFEY, UPON HIS INCOMPARABLE BALLADS CALL'D BY HIM LYRIC ODES by THOMAS (TOM) BROWN |