Life by Edith Wharton

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend May 24, 2014   Life   Edith Wharton

Life, like a marble block, is given to all, A blank, inchoate mass of years and days, Whence one with ardent chisel swift essays Some shape of strength or symmetry to call; One shatters it in bits to mend a wall; One in a craftier hand the chisel lays, And one, to wake the mirth in Lesbia’s gaze, Carves it apace in toys fantastical.   But least is he who, with enchanted eyes Filled with high visions of fair shapes to be, Muses which god he shall immortalize In the proud Parian’s perpetuity, Till twilight warns him from the punctual skies That the night cometh wherein none shall see.              This poem is in the public domain. About This Poem   “Life” by Edith Wharton first appeared in Scribner’s Magazine in June 1894.   Edith Wharton, a short story writer, poet, and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist was born in New York City in 1862. Wharton is best remembered for her novels, including The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence. She died in France in 1937. Poetry by Wharton   Edith Wharton: Selected Poems (Library of America, 2005) “I could suffice for Him, I knew (643)” by Emily Dickinson “Songs of a Girl” by Mary Carolyn Davies “Virgil's Hand” by Francesc Parcerisas Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038