Classic and Contemporary Poetry
YOUTH'S SECOND - SIGHT, by GEORGE DOUGLAS HOWARD COLE First Line: They tell me I am over young to know Last Line: Nor faint nor weary till the day is won. Alternate Author Name(s): Cole, G. D. H. Subject(s): Oxford University; Youth | ||||||||
THEY tell me I am over young to know: They bid me wait Ere I aspire to prate And right from wrong in human things discern. First they would have me learn From hard experience in the mortal strife, The ebb and flow, The tossings to and fro, That guide the changing courses of our life. "These things, thou boy, thou art too young to know." Life is the anaesthetic of the soul. Here where men toil their famished mouths to fill, Ideals wear but ill. And like a blasted tree That to the winds its lifeless members rears, The hopeless worker cannot see, through tears, Unto the perfect goal; But in this creed lives down the struggling years. "It has been ever, it must ever be." O men, who have descended into Hell, How can ye tell? Your ears have no more knowledge of the truth, The splendour is departed from your eyes, And from your hearts the ruth. Even now from my sight, Youth's glorious vision, that was once so rife, Is taking wings, and flies. Not long for me Truth's lantern shall burn bright, For eighteen years of age, and none of life. O hearts that sleep, O spirits drugged with care The night is nearly done. O God, set love and pity in our souls, That when the morning rolls The weight of pain from every sleeper's eyes, Our hearts again may rise, And, putting off the weeds of old despair, Wake and approve The might of love, Nor faint nor weary till the day is won. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...BETWEEN THE WARS by ROBERT HASS THE GOLDEN SHOVEL by TERRANCE HAYES ALONG WITH YOUTH by ERNEST HEMINGWAY THE BLACK RIVIERA by MARK JARMAN AT A FAIR by GEORGE DOUGLAS HOWARD COLE |
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