I A PORTAL as of shadowy adamant Stands yawning on the highway of the life Which we all tread, a cavern huge and gaunt; Around it rages an unceasing strife Of shadows, like the restless clouds that haunt The gap of some cleft mountain, lifted high Into the whirlwinds of the upper sky. II And many pass it by with careless tread, Not knowing that a shadowy ... Tracks every traveler even to where the dead Wait peacefully for their companion new; But others, by more curious humor led, Pause to examine; these are very few, And they learn little there, except to know That shadows follow them where'er they go. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE VIRTUOSO; IN IMITATION OF SPENCER'S STYLE AND STANZA by MARK AKENSIDE THE WANDERING JEW by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON COMPOSED BY THE SEA-SIDE NEAR CALAIS [AUGUST 1802] by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH THE CONFESSION by RICHARD HARRIS BARHAM |