HE who has once been happy is for aye Out of destruction's reach.
His fortune then Holds nothing secret; and
Eternity, Which is a mystery to other men, Has like a woman given him its joy.
Time is his conquest. Life, if it should fret.
Has paid him tribute. He can bear to die,
He who has once been happy! When I set
The world before me and survey its range,
Its mean ambitions, its scant fantasies,
The shreds of pleasure which for lack of change
Men wrap around them and call happiness,
The poor delights which are the tale and sum
Of the world's courage in its martyrdom;
When I hear laughter from a tavern door,
When I see crowds agape and in the rain
Watching on tiptoe and with stifled roar
To see a rocket fired or a bull slain,
When misers handle gold, when orators
Touch strong men's hearts with glory till they weep,
When cities deck their streets for barren wars
Which have laid waste their youth, and when I keep
Calmly the count of my own life and see
On what poor stuff my manhood's dreams were fed
Till I too learn'd what dole of vanity
Will serve a human soul for daily bread,--Then I remember that I once was young
And lived with Esther the world's gods among.
by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt Share
9 comments:
Okay, no offense, but this painting is just way too sweet. ;)
That's because it is from a time when young girls were supposed to be sweet. There is another Alma-Tadema painting I preferred to use but I could not find it anywhere. I'll keep looking.....
OK, I changed it to Klymt.
Elena - I'm just teasing - didn'r your husband tease you once? The Klymt is very nice however!
Ha, ha! I know you were, but you were right, and I had been thinking the same thing.... ;)
The man in the painting looks like John Garfield.
He kind of does, doesn't he?
+JMJ+
The second verse kind of reminds me of Dover Beach, except that the speaker is actually able to draw comfort from the past.
Very true! Thanks for making that apt comparison, Enbrethiliel!
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