I gave my soul to dreams sense-glorified;
I bathed in bliss-exhaling balm.
I sailed through boundless ether Tyrian-dyed,
And breathed the luscious calm.
Tense were my heart-strings tuned;
And, madly quavering as I sighed,
Their music sadly waxed and wailed—then swooned,
And floated feebly down in ebbing tide.
I gave my soul to battle. I defied
All the unlovable in life;
I could have bartered Heavenly bliss and died
Willingly in the strife!
To elevate mankind,
Mine inward power, I strove to guide;
I harnessed the puissance of the mind,
And toward that end all be magnified!
I gave my soul to dreams sense-glorified
Till sated pleasure sank to pain.
I gave my soul to battle. I defied
The sordid; but in vain—
Still, still, my spirit wept;
Its goal was hopeless, deified.
Oh, would this saddened soul had ever slept
Unborn; for slumber is a painless guide.
December 3, 1912. |