Behold this little Bane - The Boon of all alive - As common as it is unknown The name of it is Love - To lack of it is Woe - To own of it is Wound - Not elsewhere - if in Paradise It's Tantamount be found. Osserva questo piccolo Veleno - Bramosia di tutti i vivi - Comune quanto sconosciuto Il suo nome è Amore - Scarseggiarne è Dolore - Possederlo è Ferita - In nessun posto - se non in Paradiso L'Equivalente troverai.
A Dew sufficed itself - And satisfied a Leaf And thought "How vast a Destiny"! "How trivial is Life!" The Sun went out to work - The Day went out to play - But not again that Dew be seen By Physiognomy -
Whether by Day abducted - Or emptied by the Sun Into the Sea - in passing - Eternally unknown.
Attested to this Day That awful Tragedy By Transport's instability And Doom's celerity.
Than Heaven more remote, For Heaven is the Root, But these the flitted Seed, More flown indeed, Than Ones that never were, Or those that hide, and are - What madness, by their side, A vision to provide Of future Days They cannot praise -
My Soul - to find them - come - They cannot call - they're dumb - Nor prove - nor Woo - But that they have Abode - Is absolute as God - And instant - too.
Go not too near a House of Rose - The depredation of a Breeze - Or inundation of a Dew Alarm it's Walls away - Nor try to tie the Butterfly, Nor climb the Bars of Ecstasy - In insecurity to lie Is Joy's insuring quality.
How brittle are the Piers On which our Faith doth tread - No Bridge below doth totter so - Yet none hath such a Crowd. It is as old as God - Indeed - 'twas built by him - He sent his Son to test the Plank - And he pronounced it firm.
With Pinions of Disdain The soul can farther fly Than any feather specified in - Ornithology - It wafts this sordid Flesh Beyond it's dull - control And during it's electric gale - The body is - a soul - instructing by itself - How little work it be - To put off filaments like this for immortality. Con le Ali del Disdegno L'anima può volare più lontano Di qualunque specie descritta dall'Ornitologia - Conduce questa sordida Carne Oltre il suo tardo - controllo E durante quell'elettrico soffio - Il corpo è - un'anima - che s'istruisce da sé - Su quale piccola fatica sia - Spogliarsi di filamenti come questi per l'immortalità.
Who never wanted - maddest Joy Remains to him unknown - The Banquet of Abstemiousness Defaces that of Wine - Within it's reach, though yet ungrasped Desire's perfect Goal - No nearer - lest the Actual - Should disenthrall thy soul.