The Poetical Works of William Motherwell/Beneath a Placid Brow
Beneath a Placid Brow.
Beneath a placid brow,
And tear-unstained cheek,
To bear as I do now
A heart that well could break;
To simulate a smile
Amid the wrecks of grief,—
To herd among the vile,
And therein seek relief,—
For the bitterness of thought.
Were joyance dearly bought.
When will man learn to bear
His heart nailed on his breast,
With all its lines of care
In nakedness confessed?—
Why, in this solemn mask
Of passion-wasted life,
Will no one dare the task,
To speak his sorrows rife?—
Will no one bravely tell,
His bosom is a hell?
I scorn this hated scene
Of masking and disguise,
Where men on men still gleam,
With falseness in their eyes;
Where all is counterfeit,
And truth hath never say;
Where hearts themselves do cheat,
Concealing hope's decay.
And writhing at the stake,
Themselves do liars make.
Go, search thy heart, poor fool!
And mark its passions well;
'Twere time to go to school,—
'Twere time the truth to tell,—
'Twere time this world should cast
Its infant slough away,
And hearts burst forth at last
Into the light of day;—
'Twere time all learned to be
Fit for Eternity!