Higginson and Bigelow, comps. American Sonnets. 1891.
The soul goes forth and finds no resting placeBayard Taylor (18251878)
T
On the wide breast of Life’s unquiet sea
But in the heart of Man. The blazonry
Of Wealth and Power fades out, and leaves no trace;
Renown’s fresh laurels for a while may grace
The brow that wears them, but the dazzling tree
Has canker in its heart; Philosophy
Is not Content, and Art’s immortal face
Is trenched with weary furrows: but the heart
Hoards in its cells the satisfying dew
Which all our thirst is powerless to exhaust.
Let Life’s uncertain dignities depart,
And if one single manly heart be true,
My own, contented, counts them cheaply lost.