CAN I make white enough my thought for thee, Or wash my words in light? Thou hast no mate To sit aloft in the silence silently And twin those matchless heights undesecrate. Reverend as Lear, when, lorn of shelter, he Stood, with his old white head, surprised at fate; Alone as Galileo, when, set free, Before the stars he mused disconsolate. Ay, and remote, as the dead lords of song, Great masters who have made us what we are, For thou and they have taught us how to long And feel a sacred want of the fair and far: Reign, and keep life in this our deep desire -- Our only greatness is that we aspire. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...RESOLUTION OF A POETICAL QUESTION CONCERNING FOUR RURAL SISTERS: 2 by CHARLES COTTON A CONSERVATIVE by CHARLOTTE PERKINS STETSON GILMAN EPICUREAN by WILLIAM JAMES LINTON YUSSOUF by JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL THE DEAR PRESIDENT by JOHN JAMES PIATT A DIRGE by PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY RESOLUTION AND INDEPENDENCE by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH |