Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, IN THE SHADOWS: 7, by DAVID GRAY (1838-1861)


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

IN THE SHADOWS: 7, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Hew atlas for my monument; upraise
Last Line: Oh, cool the fever burning in my brain!
Subject(s): Monuments


Hew Atlas for my monument; upraise
A pyramid for my tomb, that, undestroyed
By rank, oblivion, and the hungry void,
My name shall echo through prospective days.
O careless conqueror! cold, abysmal grave!
Is it not sad -- is it not sad, my heart --
To smother young ambition, and depart
Unhonoured and unwilling, like death's slave?
No rare immortal remnant of my thought
Embalms my life; no poem, firmly reared
Against the shock of time, ignobly feared, --
But all my life's progression come to nought.
Hew Atlas! build a pyramid in a plain!
Oh, cool the fever burning in my brain!





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