Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE LESSON OF TIME, by LEWIS MORRIS (1833-1907)


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE LESSON OF TIME, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Lead thou me, spirit of the world, and I
Last Line: Stretch forth thy hand, I grasp it, silently.
Subject(s): Time


LEAD thou me, Spirit of the World, and I
Will follow where thou leadest, willingly;
Not with the careless sceptic's idle mood,
Nor blindly seeking some unreal good;

For I have come, long since to that full day
Whose morning mists have fled and curled away --
That breathless afternoon-tide when the Sun
Halts, as it were, before his journey done,

Calm as a river broadening toward the main,
Which never plunges down the rocks again,
But, clearly mirrored in its tranquil deep,
Holds tower and spire and forest as in sleep.

How old and worn the metaphor appears,
Old as the tale of passing hopes and fears!
New as the springtide air, which day by day
Breathes on young lives, and speeds them on their way.

The Roman knew it, and the Hellene too;
Assyrian and Egyptian proved it true;
Who found for youth's young glory and its glow
Serener life, and calmer tides run slow.

And them oblivion takes, and those before,
Whose very name and race we know no more,
To whom, oh Spirit of the World and Man,
Thou didst reveal Thyself when Time began, --

They felt, as I, what none may understand;
They touched through darkness on a hidden hand;
They marked their hopes, their faiths, their longings fade,
And found a solitude themselves had made;

They came, as I, to hope which conquers doubt,
Though sun and moon and every star go out;
They ceased, while at their side a still voice said,
"Fear not, have courage; blessed are the dead."

They were my brothers -- of one blood with me,
As with the unborn myriads who shall be:
I am content to rise and fall as they;
I watch the dawning of the Perfect Day.

Lead thou me, Spirit, willing and content
To be, if thou wouldst have me, wholly spent.
I am thine own, I neither strive nor cry:
Stretch forth thy hand, I grasp it, silently.





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