I would be a torch unto your hand,
A lamp upon your forehead, Labor,
In the wild darkness before the Dawn
That I shall never see…
We shall advance together, my Beloved,
Awaiting the mighty ushering…
Together we shall make the last grand charge
And ride with gorgeous Death
With all her spangles on
And cymbals clashing…
And you shall rush on exultant as I fall –
Scattering a brief fire about your feet…
Let it be so…
Better – while life is quick
And every pain immense and joy supreme,
And all I have and am
Flames upward to the dream…
Than like a taper forgotten in the dawn,
Burning out the wick.
(Lola Ridge)
More Poetry from Lola Ridge:
Lola Ridge Poems based on Topics: Dreams, Life, Labor- The Ghetto (Lola Ridge Poems)
- Betty (Lola Ridge Poems)
- The Song Of Iron (Lola Ridge Poems)
- The Everlasting Return (Lola Ridge Poems)
- Frank Little At Calvary (Lola Ridge Poems)
- Celia (Lola Ridge Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Life Poems, Dreams Poems, Labor PoemsBased on Keywords: ushering
- The Wanderer: A Vision: Canto II (Richard Savage Poems)
- A Postscript unto the Reader (Michael Wigglesworth Poems)
- The Rural Life In New England. Canto Second (Lydia Howard Huntley Sigourney Poems)
- The Believer's Espousals : Chapter III. (Ralph Erskine Poems)
- Contest Between Beauty And Wealth, (Mary Abel Clinckett Poems)