Yes, i know what you say: Since it cannot be soul to soul, Be it flesh to flesh, as it may; But is Earth the whole? Shall a man betray the Past For all Earth gives? “But the Past is dead?” At last It is all that lives. Which were the nobler goal,— To snatch at the moment’s bliss Or to swear I will keep my soul Clean for her kiss?
The Royal feast was done; the King Sought some new sport to banish care, And to his jester cried: “Sir Fool, Kneel now, and make for us a prayer!” The jester doffed his cap and bells, And stood the mocking court before; They could not see the bitter smile Behind the painted grin he wore...
Farewell to such a world! Too long I press The crowded pavement with unwilling feet. Pity makes pride, and hate breeds hatefulness, And both are poisons. In the forest sweet The shade, the peace! Immensity, that seems To drown the human life of doubts and dreams. Far off the massive portals...
What if some morning, when the stars were paling, And the dawn whitened, and the east was clear, Strange peace and rest fell on me from the presence Of a benignant spirit standing near; And I should tell him, as he stood beside me:— “This is our earth—most friendly earth, and fair; Daily...
O god, our Father, if we had but truth! Lost truth—which thou perchance Didst let man lose, lest all his wayward youth He waste in song and dance; That he might gain, in searching, mightier powers For manlier use in those foreshadowed hours. If, blindly groping, he shall oft mistake, And...
The stars know a secret They do not tell; And morn brings a message Hidden well. There ’s a blush on the apple, A tint on the wing, And the bright wind whistles, And the pulses sting. Perish dark memories! There ’s light ahead; This world’s for the living, Not for the dead. In the...
