IF there be permanence in this dizzy being, If in this whirl a centre Calm and fixed, where sight is truly seeing, And thought's the last adventure; If in the desperate attack of man On man, and jealous strife To have and hold more than another can Of the coarse prize of life; If there be aught that's precious more than seems To the throng's greedy glance, It is not something seen only in dreams, Nor in the senses' trance. It is in watching the green seethe of the grass Foam up the thighs of Spring, Seeing from lost seed flowers come to pass, Blossoms to rocked boughs cling; From the bare stone the coming harvest rise Like a multitude released; From a naked nest the lifting lark surprise The gray, nested East. It is in watching the youth of the world soar Into astonished light, While prophets quake and stare at shadows hoar, And lingered stars of night. If there be key and purpose to this being With guilt and guile perplexed, It is in eyes that see not with our seeing, Hearts not by grieving vexed. Not in time present but in time to come Is all hope, all delight— In the reincarnate life of field, wood, home, The satisfaction of sight. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THALATTA! THALATTA!; CRY OF THE TEN THOUSAND by JOSEPH BROWNLEE BROWN WHEN THE FROST IS ON THE PUNKIN by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY WALT WHITMAN'S CAUTION by WALT WHITMAN LEANDER DROWNED by PHILIP AYRES THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM by HENRY BEER THE COMPLAINT by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN |