Saint, Revolutionist

Delmore Schwartz

Saint, revolutionist,
God and sage know well,
That there is a place
Where that much-rung bell,
The well-beloved body,
And its sensitive face
Must be sacrificed.

There is, it seems, in this
A something meaningless,
Hanging without support
And yet too dear to touch,
That life should seek its end
Where no will can descend,
Facing a gun to see
Long actuality.

What is this that is
The good of nothingness,
The death of Socrates
And that strange man on the cross
Seeking out all loss?
For men love life until
It shames both face and will.

Neither in hell nor heaven
Is the answer given,
Both are a servant’s pay:
But they wish to know
how far the will can go,
Lest their infinite play
And their desires be
Shadow and mockery.

Next 10 Poems

• Delmore Schwartz : Socrates Ghost Must Haunt Me Now
• Delmore Schwartz : Someone Is Harshly Coughing As Before
• Delmore Schwartz : Sonnet On Famous And Familiar Sonnets And Experiences
• Delmore Schwartz : Sonnet Suggested By Homer, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Paul Vakzy, James Joyce, Et Al.
• Delmore Schwartz : Sonnet: O City, City
• Delmore Schwartz : Sonnet: The Ghosts Of James And Peirce In Harvard Yard
• Delmore Schwartz : Spiders
• Delmore Schwartz : The Ballad Of The Children Of The Czar
• Delmore Schwartz : The Ballet Of The Fifth Year
• Delmore Schwartz : The Beautiful American Word, Sure

Previous 10 Poems

• Delmore Schwartz : Prothalamion
• Delmore Schwartz : Poem ( You, My Photographer, You, Most Aware )
• Delmore Schwartz : Poem ( Remember Midsummer: The Fragrance Of Box )
• Delmore Schwartz : Poem ( Old Man In The Crystal Morning After Snow )
• Delmore Schwartz : Poem ( In The Morning, When It Was Raining )
• Delmore Schwartz : Phoenix Lyrics
• Delmore Schwartz : Philology Recapitulates Ontology, Poetry Is Ontology
• Delmore Schwartz : Parlez-vous Francais?
• Delmore Schwartz : Out Of The Watercolored Window, When You Look
• Delmore Schwartz : Occasional Poems