My little learning fadeth fast away,
And all the host of words and forms and rules
Bred in my teeming youth of books and schools
Dwindle to less and lighter; night and day
I dream of tasks undone, and lore forgot,
Seeming some sailor in the “ship of fools,”
Some debtor owing what he cannot pay,
Some conner of old themes remember’d not.
Despise such small oblivion; ’tis the lot
Of human life, amid its chance and change,
To learn, and then unlearn; to seek and find
And then to lose familiars grown quite strange:
Store up, store wisdom’s corn in heart and mind,
But fling the chaff on every winnowing wind.
(Martin Farquhar Tupper)
More Poetry from Martin Farquhar Tupper:
Martin Farquhar Tupper Poems based on Topics: Mind, Life, Night, Change, Education, Books, Fool, Learning- My Ode And Three Sonnets (As First Published On The Coronation Of Queen Victoria, June 28, 1838) (Martin Farquhar Tupper Poems)
- Waterloo (A Ballad For The Soldier) (Martin Farquhar Tupper Poems)
- Shakspeare. (An Ode For His Three-Hundredth Birthday) (Martin Farquhar Tupper Poems)
- Liberty - Equality - Fraternity! (Martin Farquhar Tupper Poems)
- A Dirge For Wellington (Martin Farquhar Tupper Poems)
- Imagination (Suggested By An Ideal Portrait) (Martin Farquhar Tupper Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Life Poems, Night Poems, Mind Poems, Education Poems, Books Poems, Change Poems, Fool Poems, Learning PoemsBased on Keywords: fadeth, familiars