THIS fruitage from the far Hesperides I bring to great Eurystheus, feared and hated, Whom I, his slave, nor hate nor fear; my fated, My full reward, he has no power to seize, Nor is it bought with golden gauds like these; I seek supreme delights, untold, undated; Of joys wherewith these kings of men are sated Right little recks the Jove-born Hercules. I live content to bear my destined burden, To toil unthanked, unhonoured, void of guerdon, To work a tyrant's will through lonely years; That, neither shunning pain nor scorning pleasure, My strenuous soul may win Olympian leisure, And dwell in peace among the Gods, my peers. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...LOVE IN TWILIGHT by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET TRANSLUCENT FINGERS by MALCOLM COWLEY DEVASTATION by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE AUDACIOUS by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON VASHTI by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON THE SONG OF THE SHEPHERDS by EDWIN MARKHAM OCTAVES: 2 by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON THE CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON ON AN UNFINISHED STATUE BY MICHAEL ANGELO by GEORGE SANTAYANA |