Man has been famed
Time out of mind
For having gone lamed
Or deaf or blind
Or weighted down
With loads that bind.
And eye and ear
Now curtained are
To see or hear
Rhyme in a star
Since you, my dear,
Have gone so far.
And limbs that go
And lips that speak
Are not to know
That which they seek....
Does Time jest so
In a madman's freak?
No, Time jests not,
Nor have I guessed
What has overshot
All bitter jest
Since first Man got
Fate's manifest.
Cold eyes averse
And stony brows
And the old curse
On Adam's house
Despite, my verse
This truth allows:
A clear light hidden,
A tower of air,
A voice unbidden,
A secret stair,
And dream long-chidden
That makes aware
Thought of a time —
Who shall say how?
Oh, burnished grime,
Star-studded plough,
Common coin of rhyme
Ringing golden now!