Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


BARBARIANS by JAMES STEPHENS

First Line: I PAUSE BESIDE THE STREAM, AND HEAR
Last Line: ASKS AM I INTELLIGENT!
Subject(s): IGNORANCE; MEN; DULLNESS; STUPDITY;

I pause beside the stream, and hear
The waters talking on the way;
If I had a proper ear
I could tell you what they say!

Yon lovely tree against the sky,
Which the sun first rests upon,
Has a message for my eye;
If I had a proper one!

On the golden heath a wind,
Whispered to me as I stood;
If I had a proper mind
I could answer, so I could!

I am deaf and dumb and blind!
No reply can I invent
When a stream, a tree, a wind,
Asks am I intelligent!



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