Ghosts of Dreams

William Herbert Carruth 1859 ( Osawatomie, Kansas) – 1924 (U.S.A)



We are all of us dreamers of dreams,
On visions our childhood is fed;
And the heart of a child is unhaunted, it seems,
By ghosts of dreams that are dead.

From childhood to youth's but a span,
And the years of our life are soon sped;
But the youth is no longer a youth, but a man,
When the first of his dreams is dead.

'Tis a cup of wormwood and gall,
When the doom of a great man is said;
And the best of a man is under a pall
When the best of his dreams is dead.

He may live on by compact and plan
When the fine bloom of living is shed,
But God pity the little that's left of a man
When most of his dreams are dead.

Let him show a brave face if he can;
Let him woo fame and fortune instead;
Yet there's not much to do, but to bury a man
When the last of his dreams is dead.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 28, 2023

51 sec read
82

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CBCB XBXB CBCB CBCB
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 763
Words 170
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

William Herbert Carruth

William Herbert Carruth (April 5, 1859 – December 15, 1924) was an American educator and poet. He taught at the University of Kansas and Stanford University.  more…

All William Herbert Carruth poems | William Herbert Carruth Books

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