'TIS in a measure easy not to plan But simply to lie still and brave all day A single discipline. I've put away Ambition. From a straight, a narrow span Of life, a lofty quietude I scan, And an unclouded beauty I survey. My hands are idle, but my thoughts can weigh And prove what has been true since earth began. By suffering released from self-endeavour, I view reality, that rainbow skein That is like sunlight and the sombre rain. Although my body must lie still forever, With vigorous will out of myself I lean And gather what my body has not seen. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...INTOXICATION by EMILY DICKINSON LINES TO A MOVEMENT IN MOZART'S E-FLAT SYMPHONY by THOMAS HARDY WINTER MEMORIES by HENRY DAVID THOREAU INCIDENT CHARACTERISTIC OF A FAVOURITE DOG by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH EMBLEMS OF LOVE: CUPID TO CHLOE WEEPING; A SONNET by PHILIP AYRES A TRINITY OF MOTHERHOOD by FRED CLARE BALDWIN THE HOLLYHOCKS by CRAVEN LANGSTROTH BETTS |