The Poetry of Real Life A New Edition, Much Enlarged and Improved. By Henry Ellison |
WISDOM, HOW IT WORKS. |
The Poetry of Real Life | ||
WISDOM, HOW IT WORKS.
The wise man does not wish to force things allAt once to his own purpose, tho' the best:
Their obstinate resistance would arrest
Its progress, or it, if effectual,
These break, not mend, and so the good be small—
He takes things as they are, and leaves the rest
To Time, the Adapter: till, grown manifest,
The imperfections of their own selves fall.
He works like Nature: quickens at the root,
Heedless what worn-out leaves hang on the bough;
Well knowing that fresh leaves and flowers will shoot,
When the sap rises, tho' they seem dead now;
That all will wear a livery to suit
The happy time, and bear appropriate fruit!
The Poetry of Real Life | ||