To murder one so young! To still that wonder-teeming tongue Ere half the fulness of its mellow'd glory Had flash'd in mild sheet-lightnings forth! Who knows, had that majestic Life grown hoary, Long vers'd in all man's weakness, woes and worth, What beams had pierced the clouds that veil this voyage of care! Not Zeus, nor Baal's throne, Nor Osiris alone, But Doubt, or worse assurance of Despair, Or Superstition's brood that blends the tiger with the hare. Who knows but we had caught Some hint from pure impassion'd Thought, How Matter's links and Spirit's, that still fly us, Can break and still leave Spirit free; How Will can act o'ermaster'd by no bias; Why Good omnipotent lets Evil be; What balm heals beauteous Nature's universal flaw; And how, below, above, It is Love, and only Love Bids keen Sensation glut Destruction's maw -- Love rolls this groaning Sea of Life on pitiless rocks of Law! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ISADORA DUNCAN DANCING 'IPHIGENIA IN AULIS' by LOUIS UNTERMEYER TO A MOUSE, ON TURNING HER UP IN HER NEST WITH THE PLOUGH by ROBERT BURNS THE KING'S JEWEL by PHOEBE CARY ODES: BOOK 2: ODE 6. TO WILLIAM HALL, ESQ., WITH THE WORKS OF CHAULIEU by MARK AKENSIDE FESSEDEN'S GARDEN by ELIZABETH AKERS ALLEN EMBLEMS OF LOVE: 16. CUPID HIMSELF STUNG by PHILIP AYRES |