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1874–1925

The Lamp of Life

Amy Lowell

Always we are following a light, Always the light recedes; with groping hands We stretch toward this glory, while the lands We journey through are hidden from our sight

Dim and mysterious, folded deep in night, We care not, all our utmost need demands Is but the light, the light! So still it stands Surely our own if we exert our might.

Fool! Never can'st thou grasp this fleeting gleam, Its glowing flame would die if it were caught, Its value is that it doth always seem But just a little farther on. Distraught,

But lighted ever onward, we are brought Upon our way unknowing, in a dream.

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The Lamp of Life · Amy Lowell · Poetry Cove