WOULDST THOU BE A POET ?
O dost thou hope to be a poet? — thrill To the bliss and terror of the multitude, Then pour their passion through thy thiobbing line? O wouldst thou be immortal?— stand sublime, Alone, mayhap, above the ways of men, And hold communion with the Highest? Hear Far whispers from the stellar world and win Her secrets from primeval solitude? Then let the pulses of the universe Swell through thy song to sway the noble souls Of bards unborn and bless the demi-gods Who battle for the future!
Wouldst thou be A moon-eyed mystic, doomed to drink the dreams From aged folios? Go forth and find A fastness, lonely, under hoary hills; There clothe thy spirit with the woods and
clouds ; There hear the thunder of the torrents till Thy soul is stirred and thou art forced to
sing A song, deep-toned as theirs.
O wouldst thou wield A sceptre that will sway the human soul When dread Oblivion shrouds thy drifted dust? Go! Bear a mortal's burdens; sorrow with The sorrowing, and with the glad rejoice, And God will crown thee with His lore at
last, No brighter laurel bindetb manhood's brow. —CHARLES OSCAR PALMER. Kftikouxa, Marlbgrougb 2 Qetgbs* 20.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/OW19001205.2.149
Bibliographic details
Otago Witness, 5 December 1900, Page 57
Word Count
205WOULDST THOU BE A POET ? Otago Witness, 5 December 1900, Page 57
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