Nature
I cannot think that thou shouldst pass away
From Earlier Poems
I cannot think that thou shouldst pass away,
Whose life to mine is an eternal law,
A piece of nature that can have no flaw,
A new and certain sunrise every day:
But, if thou art to be another ray
About the Sun of Life, and art to live
Free from what part of thee was fugitive,
The debt of Love I will more fully pay,
Not downcast with the thought of thee so high,
But rather raised to be a nobler man,
And more divine in my humanity,
As knowing that the waiting eyes which scan
My life are lighted by a purer being,
And ask high, calm-browed deeds, with it agreeing.
Cite this poem
MLA
Lowell, James Russell. “I cannot think that thou shouldst pass away.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/lowell/157/.
Chicago
Lowell, James Russell. “I cannot think that thou shouldst pass away.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/lowell/157/.
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