Wholivedherebeforeustwo?
Old-worldpairs。
Didawomanever——wouldIknew!——
WatchthemanWithwhombeganLove’svoyagefull-sail,——now,gnashyourteeth!
Whenplanksstart,openhellbeneathUnawares?
III。IntheDoorway。
1。
Theswallowhassethersixyoungontherail,Andlooksseaward:
Thewater’sinstripeslikeasnake,olive-paleTotheleeward,——
Ontheweather-side,black,spottedwhitewiththewind。”Goodfortunedeparts,anddisaster’sbehind”,——
Hark,thewindwithitswantsanditsinfinitewail!——
St。1。Notethetruthofcolorinvv。3-5。
2。
Ourfig-tree,thatleanedforthesaltness,hasfurledHerfivefingers,EachleaflikeahandopenedwidetotheworldWheretherelingersNoglintofthegold,Summersentforhersake:
Howthevineswritheinrows,eachimpaledonitsstake!
Myheartshrivelsupandmyspiritshrinkscurled——
St。2。herfivefingers:referringtotheshapeofthefig-leaf。
3。
Yetherearewetwo;wehavelove,houseenough,Withthefieldthere,Thishouseoffourrooms,thatfieldredandrough,Thoughityieldthere,Fortherabbitthatrobs,scarceabladeorabent;
Ifamagpiealightnow,itseemsanevent;
AndtheybothwillbegoneatNovember’srebuff——
St。3。abent:abitofcoarsegrass;A-S。`beonet’,anadducedform;
Ger。`binse’。
4。
Butwhymustcoldspread?butwhereforebringchangeTothespirit,Godmeantshouldmatehiswithaninfiniterange,AndinheritHispowertoputlifeinthedarknessandcold?
Oh,liveandloveworthily,bearandbebold!
WhomSummermadefriendsof,letWinterestrange!——
St。4。WhomSummermadefriendsof,etc。:i。e。,letWinterAdversity
estrangethosewhomSummerProsperitymadefriendsof,butletitnotestrangeus。
IV。AlongtheBeach。
1。
Iwillbequietandtalkwithyou,Andreasonwhyyouarewrong。
Youwantedmylove——isthatmuchtrue?
AndsoIdidlove,soIdo:
Whathascomeofitallalong?
2。
Itookyou——howcouldIotherwise?
Foraworldtome,andmore;
Forall,lovegreatensandglorifiesTillGod’sa-glow,tothelovingeyes,Inwhatwasmereearthbefore——
St。2。lovegreatensandglorifies:seethepoem,”Wantingis——what?”
3。
Yes,earth——yes,mereignobleearth!
NowdoImisstate,mistake?
DoIwrongyourweaknessandcallitworth?
Expectallharvest,dreadnodearth,Sealmysenseupforyoursake?
4。
OhLove,Love,no,Love!notso,indeedYouwerejustweakearth,Iknew:
Withmuchinyouwaste,withmanyaweed,Andplentyofpassionsruntoseed,Butalittlegoodgraintoo。
5。
Andsuchasyouwere,Itookyouformine:
Didnotyoufindmeyours,Towatchtheoliveandwaitthevine,AndwonderwhenriversofoilandwineWouldflow,astheBookassures?——
St。5。yours,towatchtheoliveandwaitthevine:”olive”and”vine”
areusedmetaphoricallyforthecapabilitiesofherhusband’snature。
6。
Well,andifnoneofthesegoodthingscame,Whatdidthefailureprove?
Themanwasmywholeworld,allthesame,Withhisflowerstopraiseorhisweedstoblame,And,eitherorboth,tolove——
St。6。Thefailureoffruitinherhusbandprovedtheabsolutenessofherlove,provedthathewasherall,notwithstanding。
7。
Yetthisturnsnowtoafault——there!there!
ThatIdolove,watchtoolong,Andwaittoowell,andwearyandwear;
And’tisallanoldstory,andmydespairFitsubjectforsomenewsong:——
St。7。Yetthisturnsnowtoafault:i。e。,herwatchingtheoliveandwaitingthevineofhisnature。
there!there!:I’vecomeoutplainlywiththefact。
8。”Howthelight,lightlove,hehaswingstoflyAtsuspicionofabond:
Mywisdomhasbiddenyourpleasuregood-bye,Whichwillturnupnextinalaughingeye,Andwhyshouldyoulookbeyond?”——
St。8。bond:referstowhatissaidinSt。7;
whyshouldyoulookbeyond?:i。e。,beyondalaughingeye,whichdoesnot”watch”and”wait”,andthus”weary”and”wear”。
V。OntheCliff。
1。
Ileanedontheturf,IlookedatarockLeftdrybythesurf;
Fortheturf,tocallitgrassweretomock:
Deadtotheroots,sodeepwasdoneTheworkofthesummersun。
2。
AndtherocklayflatAsananvil’sface:
Noironlikethat!
Bakeddry;ofaweed,ofashell,notrace:
Sunshineoutside,buticeatthecore,Death’saltarbytheloneshore。
3。
Ontheturf,spranggayWithhisfilmsofblue,Nocricket,I’llsay,Butawarhorse,bardedandchanfronedtoo,Thegiftofaquixote-magetohisknight,Realfairy,withwingsallright——
St。3。Nocricket,I’llsay:buttomylivelyadmiration,awarhorse,bardedandchanfronedtoo:seeWebster’sDict。,s。v。”chamfrain”。{alsochamfron:armorforahorse’shead}。
4。
Ontherock,theyscorchLikeadropoffireFromabrandishedtorch,Falltworedfansofabutterfly:
Noturf,norock,——intheiruglystead,See,wonderfulblueandred!——
St。4。they:i。e。,the`tworedfans’。
noturf,norock:i。e。,theeyeistakenupentirelywithcricketandbutterfly;blueandredreferrespectivelytocricketandbutterfly。
5。
IsitnotsoWiththemindsofmen?
Thelevelandlow,Theburntandbare,inthemselves;butthenWithsuchablueandredgrace,nottheirs,Lovesettlingunawares!
St。5。Love:settlingonthemindsofmen,thelevelandlow,theburntandbare,iscomparedtothecricketandthebutterflysettlingontheturfandtherock。
VI。ReadingaBookundertheCliff——
*Intheoriginaled。,1864,theheadingtothissectionwas`UndertheCliff’;changedined。of1868——
1。”Stillailing,Wind?Wiltbeappeasedorno?
Whichneedstheother’soffice,thouorI?
Dostwanttobedisburthenedofawoe,Andcan,intruth,myvoiceuntieItslinks,andletitgo?
2。”Artthouadumb,wrongedthingthatwouldberighted,Entrustingthusthycausetome?Forbear!
Notonguecanmendsuchpleadings;faith,requitedWithfalsehood,——love,atlastawareOfscorn,——hopes,earlyblighted,——
3。”Wehavethem;butIknownotanytoneSofitasthinetofalterforthasorrow:
Dostthinkmenwouldgomadwithoutamoan,IftheyknewanywaytoborrowApathoslikethyown?
4。”Whichsighwouldstmock,ofallthesighs?TheoneSolongescapingfromlipsstarvedandblue,Thatlastswhileonherpallet-bedthenunStretchesherlength;herfootcomesthroughThestrawsheshiverson;
5。”Youhadnotthoughtshewassotall:andspent,Hershrunklidsopen,herleanfingersshutClose,close,theirsharpandlividnailsindentTheclammypalm;thenallismute:
Thatway,thespiritwent。
6。”OrwouldstthouratherthatIunderstandThywilltohelpme?——likethedogIfoundOnce,pacingsadthissolitarystrand,Whowouldnottakemyfood,poorhound,Butwhined,andlickedmyhand。”——
St。1-6。Seefoot-notetotheArgumentofthissection。
7。
Allthis,andmore,comesfromsomeyoungman’sprideOfpowertosee,——infailureandmistake,Relinquishment,disgrace,oneveryside,——
Merelyexamplesforhissake,Helpstohispathuntried:
8。
Instanceshemust——simplyrecognize?
Oh,morethanso!——must,withalearner’szeal,Makedoublyprominent,twiceemphasize,ByaddedtouchesthatrevealThegodinbabe’sdisguise。
9。
Oh,heknowswhatdefeatmeans,andtherest!
Himselftheundefeatedthatshallbe:
Failure,disgrace,heflingsthemyoutotest,——
Histriumph,ineternityTooplainlymanifest!——
St。7-9。Shereflects,ironicallyandsarcastically,upontheconfidenceoftheyoungpoet,resultingfromhisimmaturity,inhisfuturetriumphoverallobstacles。Inexperiencedasheis,hefeelshimselfthegodinbabe’sdisguise,etc。Hewilllearnafterawhilewhatthewindmeansinitsmoaning。ThetrainofthoughtinSt。11-16ispresentedintheArgument。
10。
Whence,judgeifhelearnforthwithwhatthewindMeansinitsmoaning——bythehappypromptInstinctivewayofyouth,Imean;forkindCalmyears,exactingtheiraccomptOfpain,maturethemind:
11。
Andsomemidsummermorning,atthelullJustaboutdaybreak,ashelooksacrossAsparklingforeigncountry,wonderfulTothesea’sedgeforgloomandgloss,Nextminutemustannul,——
12。
Then,whenthewindbeginsamongthevines,Solow,solow,whatshallitsaybutthis?”Hereisthechangebeginning,herethelinesCircumscribebeauty,settoblissThelimittimeassigns。”
13。
Nothingcanbeasithasbeenbefore;
Better,socallit,onlynotthesame。
Todrawonebeautyintoourhearts’core,Andkeepitchangeless!suchourclaim;
Soanswered,——Nevermore!
14。
Simple?Whythisistheoldwoeo’theworld;
Tune,towhoseriseandfallweliveanddie。
Risewithit,then!RejoicethatmanishurledFromchangetochangeunceasingly,Hissoul’swingsneverfurled!
15。
That’sanewquestion;stillrepliesthefact,Nothingendures:thewindmoans,sayingso;
Wemoaninacquiescence:there’slife’spact,Perhapsprobation——doIknow?
Goddoes:endurehisact!
16。
Only,forman,howbitternottograveOnhissoul’shands’palmsonefairgoodwisethingJustashegraspedit!Forhimself,death’swave;
Whiletimefirstwashes——ah,thesting!——
O’erallhe’dsinktosave。
VII。AmongtheRocks。
1。
Oh,goodgiganticsmileo’thebrownoldearth,Thisautumnmorning!HowhesetshisbonesTobaski’thesun,andthrustsoutkneesandfeetFortherippletorunoverinitsmirth;
Listeningthewhile,whereontheheapofstonesThewhitebreastofthesea-larktwitterssweet。