Monday, February 1, 2010

With a lot of Thought on Which is the one piece of Poetry I'd love to have on my Blog I ultimately zeroed down on Theodore Tilton's, "Even This Shall Pass Away". With a powerful message, this poem has always inspired me and every time I read it I seem to like it more and more. If 'Prices' are an exception to the Law of Gravitation as they never seem to come down; this Poem is undoubtedly an exception to the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility. The More you read it the more you want to read the more of it. Enjoy Reading and Re-reading!


EVEN THIS SHASLL PASS AWAY


ONCE in Persia ruled a king

Who upon his signet ring

’Graved a motto true and wise,

Which, when held before his eyes,

Gave him counsel at a glance

Fit for any change or chance

Solemn words, and these were they:

“Even this shall pass away.”

Trains of camel through the sand

Brought him gems from Samarkand;

Fleets of galleys through the seas

Brought him pearls to rival these.

Yet he counted not his gain

Treasures of the mine or main.

“Wealth may come, but not to stay;

Even this shall pass away.”


’Mid the revels of his court,

An the zenith of his sport,

When the palms of all his guests,

Burned with clapping at his jests,

He, amid his figs and wine,

Cried: “Oh, loving friends of mine,

Pleasure comes, but not to stay —

Even this shall pass away.”


Lady, fairest ever seen,

Was the bride he crowned his queen.

Pillowed on his marriage bed

Softly to his soul he said:

“Though no bridegroom ever pressed

Fairer bosom to his breast,

Mortal flesh must come to clay —

Even this shall pass away.”


Fighting in a furious field,

Once a javelin pierced his shield,

Soldiers with a loud lament

Bore him bleeding to his tent.

Groaning, from his wounded side,

“Pain is hard to bear,” he cried.

“But, with patience, day by day,

Even this shall pass away.”


Towering in the public square,

Twenty cubits in the air,

Rose his status grand in stone;

And the king, disguised, unknown,

Gazing on his sculptured name,

Asked himself: “And what is fame?

Fame is but a slow decay —

Even this shall pass away.”


Struck with palsy, oand old,

Standing at the gates of gold,

Spake him this, in dying breath:

“Life is done, and what is death?”

Then, in answer to the king,

Fell a sunbeam on the ring,

Answering, with its heavenly ray:

“Even death shall pass away.”

1 comment:

  1. A few years back you recited this poem to me. And it has been a part of me throughout.
    Thanks a lot for sharing it with me.

    And a very warm welcome to the blogosphere! :-)

    ReplyDelete