The poetical works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in six volumes |
 |
 | 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
| 6. |
|
|
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 1. |
| 2. |
Scene II.
|
| 5. |
| 6. |
| 3. |
 | The poetical works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow |  |
122
Scene II.
—Michael Angelo, returning to his work.MICHAEL ANGELO.
How will men speak of me when I am gone,
When all this colorless, sad life is ended,
And I am dust? They will remember only
The wrinkled forehead, the marred countenance,
The rudeness of my speech, and my rough manners,
And never dream that underneath them all
There was a woman's heart of tenderness;
They will not know the secret of my life,
Locked up in silence, or but vaguely hinted
In uncouth rhymes, that may perchance survive
Some little space in memories of men!
Each one performs his life-work, and then leaves it;
Those that come after him will estimate
His influence on the age in which he lived.
March 10, 1872.]
| The poetical works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow | |