I wish I had not come to man's estate, I wish I was a silly urchin still, With bounding pulses, and a heart elate To meet whatever came of good or ill. Of good or ill! Not knowing what was good, But groping to a better than I knew; And guessing deeper than I understood; And hoping truths that seemed to be untrue. Of good or ill! When, so it often seems, There is no good at all but only ill. Alas, the sunny summer-time of dreams! 8he dragons I had nerved my hand to kill! The maid I could have rescued, and the queen Whose champion long ago I might have been! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: ALFRED MOIR by EDGAR LEE MASTERS A PSALM OF TRAVEL by GEORGE SANTAYANA TOMORROW by FELIX LOPE DE VEGA CARPIO TOM DEADLIGHT by HERMAN MELVILLE THE HAYSTACK IN THE FLOODS by WILLIAM MORRIS (1834-1896) WHY THUS LONGING by HARRIET WINSLOW SEWALL GREAT BELL ROLAND; SUGGESTED BY PRESIDENT'S CALL VOLUNTEERS by THEODORE TILTON |