When I behold what pleasure is pursuit,
What life, what glorious eagerness it is;
Then mark how full possession falls from this,
How fairer seems the blossom than the fruit --
I am perplexed, and often stricken mute
Wondering which attained the higher bliss,
The wingèd insect, or the chrysalis
It thrust aside with unreluctant foot.
Spirit of verse, that still elud'st my art,
Thou uncaught rapture, thou swift-fleeting fire,
O let me follow thee with hungry heart
If beauty's full possession kill desire!
Still flit away in moonlight, rain, and dew,
Will-of-the-wisp, that I may still pursue!
Pursuit And Possession
Thomas Bailey Aldrich
(1)
Poem topics: away, beauty, fire, heart, life, rain, wing, desire, pleasure, rapture, fruit, spirit, pursuit, moonlight, verse, follow, hungry, swift, Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation
Write your comment about Pursuit And Possession poem by Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Best Poems of Thomas Bailey Aldrich