Living

All's Right with the World

by Gerald Massey 1828–1907

From The Poetical Works (1861)

Living

Sweet Phosphor makes the brow of heaven smile,
Dawn's golden springs surge into floods of day,
Lush-leavy woods break into singing, Earth
From dewy dark rolls round her balmy side,
And all goes right, and merrily, with the world.

Spring with a tender beauty clothes the earth,
Happy, and jewell'd like a sumptuous Bride,
As tho' she knew no sorrow — held no grave:
No glory dims for all the hearts that break;
And all goes right, and merrily, with the world.

Birds sing as sweetly on the blossom'd boughs,
Suns mount as royally their sapphire throne,
Stars bud in gorgeous gloom, and harvests yield,
As tho' man nestled in the lap of Love:
All, all goes right, and merrily, with the world.

But slip this silken-folded mask aside,
And lo, Hell welters at our very feet!

The Poor are murder'd body and soul, the Rich
In Pleasure's chalice melt their pearl of life!

Ay, all goes right, and merrily, with the world.

Lean out into the looming Future, mark
The battle-roll across the night to come!

" See how we right our Wrongs at last," Revenge
Writes with red radiance on the midnight heaven:

Yet, all goes right, and merrily, with the world.

So Sodom, grim old Reveller! went to death.
Voluptuous Music throbb'd through all her courts,
Mirth wanton'd at her heart, one pulse before
Fire-tongues told out her bloody tale of wrong, —
And all went right, and merrily, with the world.

✦ ✦ ✦

From the section "Miscellaneous" of The Poetical Works (1861).

MLA

Massey, Gerald. “All's Right with the World.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/massey/96/.

Chicago

Massey, Gerald. “All's Right with the World.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/massey/96/.

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