The Village Atheist
Edgar Lee Masters 1868 (Garnett) – 1950 (Elkins Park)
Ye young debaters over the doctrine
Of the soul's immortality
I who lie here was the village atheist,
Talkative, contentious, versed in the arguments
Of the infidels.
But through a long sickness
Coughing myself to death
I read the Upanishads and the poetry of Jesus.
And they lighted a torch of hope and intuition
And desire which the Shadow,
Leading me swiftly through the caverns of darkness,
Could not extinguish.
Listen to me, ye who live in the senses
And think through the senses only:
Immortality is not a gift,
Immortality is an achievement;
And only those who strive mightily
Shall possess it.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 31 sec read
- 41 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABCDEFGFAHFIJBKLBM |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 593 |
Words | 105 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 18 |
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