I stand upon the haunted plain Of vanished day and year, And ever o'er its gloomy waste Some strange, sad voice I hear. Some voice from out the shadowed Past; And one I call Regret, And one I know is Misspent Hours, Whose memory lingers yet. Then Failure speaks in bitter tones, And Grief, with all its woes; Remorse, whose deep and cruel stings My painful thoughts disclose. Thus do these voices speak to me, And flit like shadows past; My spirit falters in despair, And tears flow thick and fast. But when, within the wide domain Of Future Day and Year I stand, and o'er its sunlit Plain A sweeter Voice I hear, Which bids me leave the darkened Past And crush its memory, -- I'll listen gladly, and obey The Voice of Opportunity. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE SEALS IN PENOBSCOT BAY by KAREN SWENSON A BALLAD UPON A WEDDING by JOHN SUCKLING TRAILING ARBUTUS by HENRY ABBEY CHARLES EDWARD AT VERSAILLES ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF CULLODEN by WILLIAM EDMONSTOUNE AYTOUN ISAIAH: FIFTY-SECOND CHAPTER by OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE SHADOWS ON THE WALL by ALEXANDER (ALEKSANDR) ALEXANDROVICH BLOK |