LIFE! I know not what thou art,
But know that thou and I must part;
And when, or how, or where we met,
I own to me 's a secret yet.
But this I know, when thou art fled,
Where'er they lay these limbs, this head,
No clod so valueless shall be
As all that then remains of me.
O whither, whither dost thou fly?
Where bend unseen thy trackless course?
And in this strange divorce,
Ah, tell where I must seek this compound I?
To the vast ocean of empyreal flame
From whence thy essence came
Dost thou thy flight pursue, when freed
From matter's base encumbering weed?
Or dost thou, hid from sight,
Wait, like some spell-bound knight,
Through blank oblivious years th' appointed hour
To break thy trance and reassume thy power?
Yet canst thou without thought or feeling be?
O say, what art thou, when no more thou'rt thee?
Life! we have been long together,
Through pleasant and through cloudy weather;
'Tis hard to part when friends are dear;
Perhaps 'twill cost a sigh, a tear;—
Then steal away, give little warning,
Choose thine own time;
Say not Good-night, but in some brighter clime
Bid me Good-morning!
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Comments
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The last stanza got me. Calling life her friend. perhaps a sigh or a tear will be the cost in the final parting; life is asked to steal away, to choose its own time and to give little advanced warning, and finally, treat the next life (eternity) as a greeting for the words "Good-morning!". Very nice and an unexpected read. The first stanza reads like a journal entry, as though the poet is making peace within herself. The crux is the fact that there will be a parting, and the handling of that fact, in my opinion, is resolved by the end of the poem. There is no sense of absolute terror or even overwhelming fear; instead, we find a resolve that must be and framed with a positive outcome--a good-morning.
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Realy nice poem and thank you for your
comment ~night~
Chanting Whisper
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