 | Sonnets and Other Poems Chiefly Religious |  |
30
THEORY AND LIFE.
“Grau, theuerer Freund, ist alle Theorie,
Und grün des Lebens goldner Baum.”
Goethe.
Und grün des Lebens goldner Baum.”
Goethe.
With petty care and grief o'erfraught,
I had been more than half inclined
To wish that I could turn my mind
Into a mere machine of thought.
I had been more than half inclined
To wish that I could turn my mind
Into a mere machine of thought.
But on my knee I took a child,
And pressed the soft warm lips to mine,
And saw the little features shine
With life and pleasure as it smiled.
And pressed the soft warm lips to mine,
And saw the little features shine
With life and pleasure as it smiled.
Then came to mind what Goethe said:
“All theory is sere and cold,
But life is green, with flowers of gold;”
And that unholy wish was fled.
“All theory is sere and cold,
But life is green, with flowers of gold;”
And that unholy wish was fled.
| Sonnets and Other Poems Chiefly Religious | |