My own dim life should teach me this, That life shall live for evermore, Else earth is darkness at the core, And dust and ashes all that is; This round of green, this orb of flame, Fantastic beauty; such as lurks In some wild poet, when he works Without a conscience or an aim. What then were God to such as I? 'T were hardly worth my while to choose Of things all mortal, or to use A little patience ere I die; 'T were best at once to sink to peace, Like birds the charming serpent draws, To drop head-foremost in the jaws Of vacant darkness and to cease. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...WINTER NIGHT SONG by SARA TEASDALE SUPPLICATION by JOSEPH SEAMON COTTER JR. THE WALLS DO NOT FALL: 4 by HILDA DOOLITTLE THE PHANTOM SHIP by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW NEW ENGLAND'S DEAD! by ISAAC MCLELLAN JR. SEVEN AGES OF MAN, FR. AS YOU LIKE IT by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE |