I Might-and I Might Not

Gamaliel Bradford 1863 (Boston, Massachusetts) – 1932



I might forget ambition and the hunger for success.
I might forget the passion to escape from nothingness.
I might forget the curious dreams of ecstasy that haunt
My fancy day and night. I might forget them. But I can't.

If I could let the pen alone and leave the inkstand dry,
And forego perpetual effort to be climbing, climbing high,
And lay aside my mad designs to startle and enchant,
I might enjoy the sweet of common living. But I can't.

I might be just a Philistine, and eat, and drink, and sleep,
And drive a dusty motor and pile money in a heap,
And let the stream of life run through my brain and be forgot.
If I did, I might be happier. I might—and I might not.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

40 sec read
29

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXXA BBAA CCDD
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 672
Words 132
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4

Gamaliel Bradford

Gamaliel Bradford was an American biographer, critic, poet, and dramatist. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, the sixth of seven men called Gamaliel Bradford in unbroken succession, of whom the first, Gamaliel Bradford, was a great-grandson of Governor William Bradford of the Plymouth Colony. His grandfather, Dr. Gamaliel Bradford of Boston, was a noted abolitionist. more…

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