THE FIELD OF GLORY
War shook the land where Levi dwelt,And fired the dismal wrath he felt,That such a doom was ever wroughtAs his, to toil while others fought;To toil, to dream—and still to dream,With one day barren as another;To consummate, as it would seem,The dry despair of his old mother.Far off one afternoon beganThe sound of man destroying man;And Levi, sick with nameless rage,Condemned again his heritage,And sighed for scars that might have come,And would, if once he could have sunderedThose harsh, inhering claims of homeThat held him while he cursed and wondered.Another day, and then there came,Rough, bloody, ribald, hungry, lame,But yet themselves, to Levi’s door,Two remnants of the day before.They laughed at him and what he sought;They jeered him, and his painful acre;But Levi knew that they had fought,And left their manners to their Maker.That night, for the grim widow’s ears,With hopes that hid themselves in fears,He told of arms, and featly deeds,Whereat one leaps the while he reads,And said he’d be no more a clown,While others drew the breath of battle.The mother looked him up and down,And laughed—a scant laugh with a rattle.She told him what she found to tell,And Levi listened, and heard wellSome admonitions of a voiceThat left him no cause to rejoice.He sought a friend, and found the stars,And prayed aloud that they should aid him;But they said not a word of wars,Or of a reason why God made him.And who’s of this or that estateWe do not wholly calculate,When baffling shades that shift and clingAre not without their glimmering;When even Levi, tired of faith,Beloved of none, forgot by many,Dismissed as an inferior wraith,Reborn may be as great as any.The OutlookEdwin Arlington Robinson
War shook the land where Levi dwelt,And fired the dismal wrath he felt,That such a doom was ever wroughtAs his, to toil while others fought;To toil, to dream—and still to dream,With one day barren as another;To consummate, as it would seem,The dry despair of his old mother.Far off one afternoon beganThe sound of man destroying man;And Levi, sick with nameless rage,Condemned again his heritage,And sighed for scars that might have come,And would, if once he could have sunderedThose harsh, inhering claims of homeThat held him while he cursed and wondered.Another day, and then there came,Rough, bloody, ribald, hungry, lame,But yet themselves, to Levi’s door,Two remnants of the day before.They laughed at him and what he sought;They jeered him, and his painful acre;But Levi knew that they had fought,And left their manners to their Maker.That night, for the grim widow’s ears,With hopes that hid themselves in fears,He told of arms, and featly deeds,Whereat one leaps the while he reads,And said he’d be no more a clown,While others drew the breath of battle.The mother looked him up and down,And laughed—a scant laugh with a rattle.She told him what she found to tell,And Levi listened, and heard wellSome admonitions of a voiceThat left him no cause to rejoice.He sought a friend, and found the stars,And prayed aloud that they should aid him;But they said not a word of wars,Or of a reason why God made him.And who’s of this or that estateWe do not wholly calculate,When baffling shades that shift and clingAre not without their glimmering;When even Levi, tired of faith,Beloved of none, forgot by many,Dismissed as an inferior wraith,Reborn may be as great as any.The OutlookEdwin Arlington Robinson
War shook the land where Levi dwelt,And fired the dismal wrath he felt,That such a doom was ever wroughtAs his, to toil while others fought;To toil, to dream—and still to dream,With one day barren as another;To consummate, as it would seem,The dry despair of his old mother.
War shook the land where Levi dwelt,
And fired the dismal wrath he felt,
That such a doom was ever wrought
As his, to toil while others fought;
To toil, to dream—and still to dream,
With one day barren as another;
To consummate, as it would seem,
The dry despair of his old mother.
Far off one afternoon beganThe sound of man destroying man;And Levi, sick with nameless rage,Condemned again his heritage,And sighed for scars that might have come,And would, if once he could have sunderedThose harsh, inhering claims of homeThat held him while he cursed and wondered.
Far off one afternoon began
The sound of man destroying man;
And Levi, sick with nameless rage,
Condemned again his heritage,
And sighed for scars that might have come,
And would, if once he could have sundered
Those harsh, inhering claims of home
That held him while he cursed and wondered.
Another day, and then there came,Rough, bloody, ribald, hungry, lame,But yet themselves, to Levi’s door,Two remnants of the day before.They laughed at him and what he sought;They jeered him, and his painful acre;But Levi knew that they had fought,And left their manners to their Maker.
Another day, and then there came,
Rough, bloody, ribald, hungry, lame,
But yet themselves, to Levi’s door,
Two remnants of the day before.
They laughed at him and what he sought;
They jeered him, and his painful acre;
But Levi knew that they had fought,
And left their manners to their Maker.
That night, for the grim widow’s ears,With hopes that hid themselves in fears,He told of arms, and featly deeds,Whereat one leaps the while he reads,And said he’d be no more a clown,While others drew the breath of battle.The mother looked him up and down,And laughed—a scant laugh with a rattle.
That night, for the grim widow’s ears,
With hopes that hid themselves in fears,
He told of arms, and featly deeds,
Whereat one leaps the while he reads,
And said he’d be no more a clown,
While others drew the breath of battle.
The mother looked him up and down,
And laughed—a scant laugh with a rattle.
She told him what she found to tell,And Levi listened, and heard wellSome admonitions of a voiceThat left him no cause to rejoice.He sought a friend, and found the stars,And prayed aloud that they should aid him;But they said not a word of wars,Or of a reason why God made him.
She told him what she found to tell,
And Levi listened, and heard well
Some admonitions of a voice
That left him no cause to rejoice.
He sought a friend, and found the stars,
And prayed aloud that they should aid him;
But they said not a word of wars,
Or of a reason why God made him.
And who’s of this or that estateWe do not wholly calculate,When baffling shades that shift and clingAre not without their glimmering;When even Levi, tired of faith,Beloved of none, forgot by many,Dismissed as an inferior wraith,Reborn may be as great as any.
And who’s of this or that estate
We do not wholly calculate,
When baffling shades that shift and cling
Are not without their glimmering;
When even Levi, tired of faith,
Beloved of none, forgot by many,
Dismissed as an inferior wraith,
Reborn may be as great as any.
The OutlookEdwin Arlington Robinson