Poems (Hoffman)/The Unattained
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THE UNATTAINED
(A Sunset Harmony.)
(A Sunset Harmony.)
My friend come with me to the ferny brink
Of this clear spring shut in by clustering trees
And from my cup the crystal coolness drink,
Is this the end to live, to love, to think,
And thus to quench that still unsatisfied and longing thirst
For sky-flight—'till the bird its cage would burst
Unsoothed by things like these,—
Siesta, friendship, thought, stagnation gained?
Through these still trees
I catch a soul-glimpse of those sunset towers, free and unchained,
A glimpse of silver seas and golden shores
And city turrets,—thrones where thought has reigned—
I almost hear the plash of amber oars,
I almost see the thrill of fluttering sails,
But not with earthly eyes.
Too far it lies
In the dim distance of the unattained.
Of this clear spring shut in by clustering trees
And from my cup the crystal coolness drink,
Is this the end to live, to love, to think,
And thus to quench that still unsatisfied and longing thirst
For sky-flight—'till the bird its cage would burst
Unsoothed by things like these,—
Siesta, friendship, thought, stagnation gained?
Through these still trees
I catch a soul-glimpse of those sunset towers, free and unchained,
A glimpse of silver seas and golden shores
And city turrets,—thrones where thought has reigned—
I almost hear the plash of amber oars,
I almost see the thrill of fluttering sails,
But not with earthly eyes.
Too far it lies
In the dim distance of the unattained.
Somewhere far back
Sweet visions of a sunrise threw their glow,
Across the path my child-faith longed to go;
But that is gone, sometimes I half forget
That brightening dawn
Of hope and faith and high ambition's flight
For life goes on and on,
A level plain, a toilsome beaten track,
With here and there a wood, a sheltered spring,
A little flower to bloom, a bird to sing.
But I will not look back,
No: better forward to that grand eclipse
Of all that man has sought for or has gained,
The sunset vision of the unattained.
Sweet visions of a sunrise threw their glow,
Across the path my child-faith longed to go;
But that is gone, sometimes I half forget
That brightening dawn
Of hope and faith and high ambition's flight
For life goes on and on,
A level plain, a toilsome beaten track,
With here and there a wood, a sheltered spring,
A little flower to bloom, a bird to sing.
But I will not look back,
No: better forward to that grand eclipse
Of all that man has sought for or has gained,
The sunset vision of the unattained.
What though my feet had reached the utmost round
Of all my early hopes, and plans, and aims,
Still earthly ladders reach but earthly ground;
And though my heart is pained
So often, that I was too weak to climb
To those loved heights 'till passed the golden time;
Earthward sometimes there is from Heaven let down,
A higher path than man has ever gained,
Above the weak acclaim of passing crowds,
Above earth's mountain peaks,
Upon the clouds
For him who fails to climb earth's dizzy heights,
Whose patient sweetness is his only crown.
Of all my early hopes, and plans, and aims,
Still earthly ladders reach but earthly ground;
And though my heart is pained
So often, that I was too weak to climb
To those loved heights 'till passed the golden time;
Earthward sometimes there is from Heaven let down,
A higher path than man has ever gained,
Above the weak acclaim of passing crowds,
Above earth's mountain peaks,
Upon the clouds
For him who fails to climb earth's dizzy heights,
Whose patient sweetness is his only crown.
God writes,
And from white cloud scrolls His bright promise speaks,
When to aspiring souls that have not gained their earth desires.
And from white cloud scrolls His bright promise speaks,
When to aspiring souls that have not gained their earth desires.
God lights
His sunset fires and dims the glory of earth's unattained.
His sunset fires and dims the glory of earth's unattained.