WHITHER, oh! whither wilt thou wing thy way? What solemn region first upon thy sight Shall break, unveiled for terror or delight? What hosts, magnificent in dread array, My spirit! when thy prison-house of clay, After long strife is rent? Fond, fruitless quest! The unfledged bird, within his narrow nest, Sees but a few green branches o'er him play, And through their parting leaves, by fits revealed, A glimpse of summer sky; nor knows the field Wherein his dormant powers must yet be tried. Thou art that bird! -- of what beyond thee lies Far in the untracked, immeasurable skies, Knowing but this -- that thou shalt find thy Guide! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE BALLAD OF JUDAS ISCARIOT by ROBERT WILLIAMS BUCHANAN TO HIS WINDING-SHEET by ROBERT HERRICK TIME TO RISE by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON THE MEETING by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER ODES: BOOK 2: ODE 5. ON LOVE OF PRAISE by MARK AKENSIDE A MISUNDERSTANDING (CONNEMARA) by JANE BARLOW |