Poem by William Dean Howells

A Poet

From wells where Truth in secret lay
He saw the midnight stars by day.

"O marvellous gift!" the many cried,
"O cruel gift!" his voice replied.

The stars were far, and cold, and high,
That glimmered in the noonday sky;

He yearned toward the sun in vain,
That warmed the lives of other men.

1. What Shall It Profit?
2. The Song the Oriole Sings
3. Vision
4. The Sarcastic Fair
5. By the Sea

Thomas Hardy A Poet ("Attentive eyes, fantastic heed") July 1914

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