Poems (Cary)/Parting with a Poet

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PARTING WITH A POET.
All the sweet summer that is gone, Two paths I sighed to mark—One brightly leading up and on, One downward to the dark.
No prophecy enwrapt my heart, No Vala's gifts were mine;Yet knew I that our paths must part— The loftier one be thine.
For not a soul inspiredly thrills, Whose wing shall not be freeTo sweep across the eternal hills, Like winds across the sea.
And, wheresoe'er thy lot may be, As all the past has proved,Love shall abide and be with thee, For genius must be loved.
While I, the heart's vain yearning stilled, The heart that vexed me long,Essay with my poor hands to build The silvery walls of song.
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Still, through the nights of wild unrest, That softer joyance bars,Winding about my vacant breast The tresses of the stars.
While at the base of heights sublime, Dim thoughts forevermoreLie moaning, like the waves of time Along the immortal shore.
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