It is beyond the human ken to learn How life was kindled in the womb of art And flesh in stone conceived; unless a yearn For love awoke in Galatea's heart, Fomenting the cold elements of breath ... Then, who can trace Pygmalion's secret goal? -- To salvage beauty from the wrecks of death Perhaps he even sacrificed his soul ... What artist knows the limits of his skill? A chisel-stroke askance, a pallet-knife Applied with chance effect, and then the thrill Of seeing visions blossom into life! If visions live in dreaming minds alone, -- The joy of beauty knows no flesh, no stone. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...FIRE, FAMINE AND SLAUGHTER. A WAR ECLOGUE by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE SEA GODS: 1 by HILDA DOOLITTLE THE MOSS ROSE by FRIEDRICH ADOLF KRUMMACHER THE MYSTERIOUS CAT by NICHOLAS VACHEL LINDSAY ODE SUNG AT THE OPENING OF THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION by ALFRED TENNYSON |