The Wise Brothers

Edwin Arlington Robinson

FIRST VOICE

So long adrift, so fast aground,
What foam and ruin have we found—
  We, the Wise Brothers?
Could heaven and earth be framed amiss,
That we should land in fine like this—
  We, and no others?

SECOND VOICE

Convoyed by what accursd thing
Made we this evil reckoning—
  We, the Wise Brothers?
And if the failure be complete,
Why look we forward from defeat—
  We, and what others?

THIRD VOICE

Blown far from harbors once in sight,
May we not, going far, go right,—
  We, the Wise Brothers?
Companioned by the whirling spheres,
Have we no more than what appears—
  We, and all others?

Next 10 Poems

• Edwin Arlington Robinson : The Woman And The Wife
• Edwin Arlington Robinson : The World
• Edwin Arlington Robinson : Theophilus
• Edwin Arlington Robinson : Thomas Hood
• Edwin Arlington Robinson : Three Quatrains
• Edwin Arlington Robinson : Twilight Song
• Edwin Arlington Robinson : Two Gardens In Linndale
• Edwin Arlington Robinson : Two Men
• Edwin Arlington Robinson : Two Octaves
• Edwin Arlington Robinson : Two Quatrains

Previous 10 Poems

• Edwin Arlington Robinson : The Wilderness
• Edwin Arlington Robinson : The White Lights
• Edwin Arlington Robinson : The Whip
• Edwin Arlington Robinson : The Wandering Jew
• Edwin Arlington Robinson : The Voice Of Age
• Edwin Arlington Robinson : The Valley Of The Shadow
• Edwin Arlington Robinson : The Unforgiven
• Edwin Arlington Robinson : The Tree In Pamela's Garden
• Edwin Arlington Robinson : The Town Down The River
• Edwin Arlington Robinson : The Torrent