 | [Poems by Whittier in] A Study of Whittier's Apprenticeship as a Poet |  |
TAKE BACK THE BOWL
Take back the bowl! take back the bowl!
Reserve it for polluted lips—
I will not bow a tameless soul
Beneath its dark and foul eclipse
I know that life must henceforth be
A weary and unblessed thing;
That hope can lend no ray to me,
Nor flowers along my pathway spring.
Reserve it for polluted lips—
I will not bow a tameless soul
Beneath its dark and foul eclipse
I know that life must henceforth be
A weary and unblessed thing;
That hope can lend no ray to me,
Nor flowers along my pathway spring.
Well, be it so—my strife hath been
Beyond the low and vulgar aim—
The deeds of base and heartless men
Have never dimmed my honest name;
And I am proud—aye, even now
Amid the shades of deepening ill;
The fearless tread—the open brow—
The bribeless hand are left me still.
Beyond the low and vulgar aim—
The deeds of base and heartless men
Have never dimmed my honest name;
And I am proud—aye, even now
Amid the shades of deepening ill;
The fearless tread—the open brow—
The bribeless hand are left me still.
Take back the bowl!—I will not steal
The hallowed memories of the past,
They add no pangs to those I feel,
Nor shadows on the future cast.
Aye, take it back; let others bring
Oblivion o'er the haunted soul;
My memory is a blessed thing—
Away! Away! take back the bowl.
The hallowed memories of the past,
They add no pangs to those I feel,
Nor shadows on the future cast.
Aye, take it back; let others bring
Oblivion o'er the haunted soul;
My memory is a blessed thing—
Away! Away! take back the bowl.
Philadelphia Album, March 4, 1829 (From American Manufacturer)
| [Poems by Whittier in] A Study of Whittier's Apprenticeship as a Poet | |