Alas! and oh that Spring should come again <br />Upon the soft wings of desired days, <br />And bring with her no anodyne to pain, <br />And no discernment of untroubled ways. <br />There was a time when her yet distant feet, <br />Guessed by some prescience more than half divine, <br />Gave to my listening ear such happy warning, <br />That fresh, serene, and sweet, <br />My thoughts soared up like larks into the morning, <br />From the dew-sprinkled meadows crystalline. <br /> <br />Soared up into the heights celestial, <br />And saw the whole world like a ball of fire, <br />Fashioned to be a monster playing ball <br />For the enchantment of my young desire. <br />And yesterday they flew to this black cloud, <br />(Missing the way to those ethereal spheres.) <br />And saw the earth a vision of affright, <br />And men a sordid crowd, <br />And felt the fears and drank the bitter tears, <br />And saw the empty houses of Delight. <br /> <br />The sun has sunk into a moonless sea, <br />And every road leads down from Heaven to Hell, <br />The pearls are numbered on youth's rosary, <br />I have outlived the days desirable. <br />What is there left ? And how shall dead men sing <br />Unto the loosened strings of Love and Hate, <br />Or take strong hands to Beauty's ravishment ? <br />Who shall devise this thing, <br />To give high utterance to Miscontent, <br />Or make indifference articulate ?<br /><br />Lord Alfred Douglas<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/ennui-10/
