Poem by Vachel Lindsay

A Sense of Humor

NO man should stand before the moon
To make sweet song thereon,
With dandified importance,
His sense of humor gone.

Nay, let us don the motley cap,
The jester's chastened mien,
If we would woo that looking-glass
And see what should be seen.

O mirror on fair Heaven's wall,
We find there what we bring.
So, let us smile in honest part
And deck our souls and sing.

Yea, by the chastened jest alone
Will ghosts and terrors pass,
And fays, or suchlike friendly things,
Throw kisses through the glass. 

1. The Merciful Hand
2. To Gloriana
3. Yet Gentle Will the Griffin Be
4. To Buddha
5. The Black Hawk War of the Artists

Print

1407 Views

Last Poems

To Russian version