The poems of Owen Meredith (Honble Robert Lytton.) Selected and revised by the author. Copyright edition. In two volumes |
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 | The poems of Owen Meredith (Honble Robert Lytton.) |  |
47
THE UTMOST.
Some clerks aver that, as the tree doth fall,Even for ever so the tree shall lie,
And that death's act doth make perpetual
The last state of the souls of men that die.
If this be so,—if this, indeed, were sure,
Then not a moment longer would I live;
Who, being now as I would fain endure,
If man's last state doth his last hour survive,
Should be among the blessèd souls. I fear
Life's many changes, not death's changelessness.
So perfect is this moment's passing cheer,
I needs must tremble lest it pass to less.
Thus but in fickle love of life I live,
Lest fickle life me of my love deprive.
| The poems of Owen Meredith (Honble Robert Lytton.) | |