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Page 2
The young men talked
Much noble nonsense; many generous schemes
Icarian, whose wings must needs melt off
At the first exposure to the garish sun
Of the world's every day; many beliefs
Most beautiful and rounded every way
To a nice perfectness, as bubbles are;
And many unbeliefs as beautiful
And just as brittle to the first rough proof;
Many true-based delusions; many truths
Bottomed on dreams, as the moon seems to rest
On clouds .... that fade and still the moon is there.
They hoped, they argued, they denounced, they planned -
And all their talk was to their great concern
Of how the world should wag of as much use
As a school-boy's shouts at play. Yet the lad's noise
Inures his throat for speeches bye and bye
When he's a statesman or a barrister
Or has to try if weary pews will hear
Another sermon yet and keep awake:
And the outbursts of these ardent half-fledged minds
Prepare them, possibly, for well poised flight,
For some flight anyhow, and that is more
Than skillful gropings in the mud for food,
Like farmyard webfoots, fat, yet eating more.
Yet, "Let them learn" you'll say, "what learning is
Ere they confute it with their phantasies."
And you'll say wisely. And in truth theyed find
Their teachers something deeper than they know,
If they had lead and line to sound with. Yet
I'll tell you this my thought: a shallow brook
That frets and brattles on and takes some miles
A little helping moisture for green growths
Is better worth than an opaque still pool,
Quite deep, you're told, below, if you could see,
That feeds a slime of chickweed and a marge
Of mud-weeds round about the hole it fills,
And does no more and keeps its stagnant peace.
I will not thank your dull sage, day by day
Growing denser with new learning, while he sees
The wide world stretched outside the little round
Of his small special science as its rim
To hold it in, measures the proper stretch
Of aspirations as to learn or teach
That same small special science, takes the heights
Of lives by how much they have learned or taught
Of the special science. Let him learn and teach:
He has his sort of use, but I will praise
No sleepy wisdom at whose door life cries
"Awake and let me in," and cries unheard.
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