Poem by Harriet Monroe

Myself

What am I? I am Earth the mother,
With all her nebulous memories;
And the young Day, and Night her brother,
And every god that was and is.

As Eve I walked in paradise,
Dreaming of nations, braving death
For knowledge; nor begrudged the price
When the first baby first drew breath.

I sang Deborah's triumph song;
I struck the foe with Judith's sword;
'Twas I who to the angel said,
"Behold the handmaid of the Lord!"

I was fair Helen, she for whom
A nation was content to die;
And Cleopatra, in whose doom
The world went down with Antony.

I am the harlot in the street,
And the veiled nun all undefiled;
In me must queen and beggar meet,
Wise age hark to the little child.

I am the life that ever is,
And the new glory that shall be;
The pain that dies, and the brave bliss
That mounts to immortality.

1. The Wonder of It
2. The Inner Silence
3. The Blue Ridge
4. At the Ship’s Rail
5. For a Child

Edgar Guest Myself ("I have to live with myself and so")

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