Labor with what zeal we will, Something still remains undone, Something uncompleted still Waits the rising of the sun. By the bedside, on the stair, At the threshold, near the gates, With its menace or its prayer, Like a mendicant it waits; Waits, and will not go away; Waits, and will not be gainsaid; By the cares of yesterday Each to-day is heavier made; Till at length the burden seems Greater than our strength can bear, Heavy as the weight of dreams, Pressing on us everywhere. And we stand from day to day, Like the dwarfs of times gone by, Who, as Northern legends say, On their shoulders held the sky. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...IN MEMORIAM A.H.H.: 13 by ALFRED TENNYSON THE BIRDS: THE WEDDING CHANT by ARISTOPHANES LILIES: 10. SOUL-PAIN by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) WHITENESS, OR CHASTITY by JOSEPH BEAUMONT ANGER AND WRATH by WILLIAM BLAKE NIGHT AND MORNING SONGS: 14. RING-DOVE SONG by GORDON BOTTOMLEY |