Be damned, you cheeks, be damned and sink; Body, bend double, sag and shrink; Go dry, poor Skin, go thin and dry; Sweet Light, collect in neither eye; Body, be damned — shall I not find Your faults redeemed by my unfailing Mind? A Mind that's strong enough to bear A Dream-child every day of the year; A Spirit full of young desire, With growing pains, to reach up higher — Is there no joy for men that think? Body, be damned, bend double, sag and shrink! Fools have their second childhood, but the Great Still keep their first, and have no second state. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE SOULS OF THE SLAIN by THOMAS HARDY SAN GABRIEL by LYMAN WHITNEY ALLEN FROM A DUSTY SHELF by MAVIS CLARE BARNETT THE LIFE THAT IS by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT PROLOGUE FOR MRS. SUTHERLAND'S BENEFIT NIGHT by ROBERT BURNS DISSECTION OF A BEAU'S HEAD by JOHN BYROM THE COUNTRY DOCTOR by WILLIAM MCKENDREE CARLETON |