Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Wednesday Musings


Give All To Love by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Give all to love;
Obey thy heart;
Friends, kindred, days,
Estate, good fame,
Plans, credit, and the muse;
Nothing refuse.

'Tis a brave master,
Let it have scope,
Follow it utterly,
Hope beyond hope;
High and more high,
It dives into noon,
With wing unspent,
Untold intent;
But 'tis a god,
Knows its own path,
And the outlets of the sky.
'Tis not for the mean,
It requireth courage stout,
Souls above doubt,
Valor unbending;
Such 'twill reward,
They shall return
More than they were,
And ever ascending.

Leave all for love;—
Yet, hear me, yet,
One word more thy heart behoved,
One pulse more of firm endeavor,
Keep thee to-day,
To-morrow, for ever,
Free as an Arab
Of thy beloved.
Cling with life to the maid;
But when the surprise,
Vague shadow of surmise,
Flits across her bosom young
Of a joy apart from thee,
Free be she, fancy-free,
Do not thou detain a hem,
Nor the palest rose she flung
From her summer diadem.

Though thou loved her as thyself,
As a self of purer clay,
Tho' her parting dims the day,
Stealing grace from all alive,
Heartily know,
When half-gods go,
The gods arrive.

3 comments:

  1. The first time I heard this poem - the word "cult" came to mind... (not sure why, it just did)

    It was years later that I actually started appreciating bits of it... but as a whole it is a rather dark beast...

    Thanks for dragging that one out...

    E.H>

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  2. It is at that. Don't know why I chose it, lol. I just like Emerson

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  3. I can understand your love for him .. I personally think he has some of the best quotes..

    This was one I loved when I was gonig to cooking school..

    Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

    I promptly failed because I was blazing my own trail... and that's not good when it comes to food...

    You so make me want to go drag out a book of peotry...

    E.H>

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