The Poetry of Real Life | ||
178
UTILITY.
Thou ask'st me, of what use is all this careFor one poor flower, which will bloom and die,
And nothing leave behind it when gone by!
O Friend, thou tak'st a mean view of what are
The ends of life, and little too dost bear
In mind the uses of Humanity:
For which all else hath its utility,
Useful but as with this great end they square!
Through this one flower, fleeting as it is,
I gain the feeling of the Beautiful;
And whosoever hath not gainëd this,
Hath missed one end of Life: and doth annul
One fairest page in Nature's book, and miss
Its meaning, and but half Life's flowers cull!
The Poetry of Real Life | ||