"Aye! I am a poet and upon my tomb Shall maidens scatter rose leaves And men myrtles, ere the night Slays day with her dark sword. "Lo! this thing is not mine Nor thine to hinder, For the custom is full old, And here in Nineveh have I beheld Many a singer pass and take his place In those dim halls where no man troubleth His sleep or song. And many a one hath sung his songs More craftily, more subtle-souled than I; And many a one now doth surpass My wave-worn beauty with his wind of flowers, Yet am I poet, and upon my tomb Shall all men scatter rose leaves Ere the night slay light With her blue sword. "It is not, Raana, that my song rings highest Or more sweet in tone than any, but that I Am here a Poet, that doth drink of life As lesser men drink wine." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...RYTON FIRS by LASCELLES ABERCROMBIE THE ARGUMENT OF HIS BOOK by ROBERT HERRICK DIRGE IN WOODS by GEORGE MEREDITH A LITTLE SONG OF LIFE by LIZETTE WOODWORTH REESE SONNET FOR A PICTURE by ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE PSALM 125 by OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE |