 | Poems by William W. Story |  |
[III. Strive not to say the whole! the Poet, in his Art]
Strive not to say the whole! the Poet, in his Art,
Must intimate the whole, and say the smallest part.
Must intimate the whole, and say the smallest part.
The young moon's silver arc her perfect circle tells,
The limitless within Art's bounded outline dwells.
The limitless within Art's bounded outline dwells.
Of every noble work the silent part is best,
Of all expression, that which cannot be expressed.
Of all expression, that which cannot be expressed.
Each act contains the Life, each work of Art the world,
And all the planet laws are in each dew-drop pearled.
And all the planet laws are in each dew-drop pearled.
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Of single stones is built the temple's Grecian state,
Yet should the poet not its stones enumerate.
Yet should the poet not its stones enumerate.
The lizard gliding o'er the Pyramid's huge cone,
Knows not the Pyramids, but only every stone.
Knows not the Pyramids, but only every stone.
Subservient to the form all details must be brought,
All images be slaves to one despotic thought.
All images be slaves to one despotic thought.
| Poems by William W. Story | |