PoemHunter.com   
For The One Who Would Not Take His Life In His Hands by Delmore Schwartz   
Search:     
Home Poets Poems Lyrics Quotations Music Forum Member Area Poetry E-Books
 
Delmore Schwartz
Delmore Schwartz (1913 - 1966 / New York / United States)
Biography   Poems   Quotations   Comments   More Info   Stats  
Delmore Schwartz was born December 8, 1913, in Brooklyn to Romanian immigrant parents. Their marriage however failed and this affected him all his lif .. more >>
64 poems of Delmore Schwartz
File Size:427 k 
File Format: Acrobat Reader
To download the eBook right-Click on the title and select "Save Target As".
 
<< prev. poem Poems by Delmore Schwartz : 15 / 64 next poem >>
  
 
Share |

 
For The One Who Would Not Take His Life In His Hands

User Rating:

5.0 /10
(1 votes)



  Athlete, virtuoso,
Training for happiness,
Bend arm and knee, and seek
The body's sharp distress,
For pain is pleasure's cost,
Denial is route
To speech before the millions
Or personal with the flute.

The ape and great Achilles,
Heavy with their fate,
Batter doors down, strike
Small children at the gate,
Driven by love to this,
As knock-kneed Hegel said,
To seek with a sword their peace,
That the child may be taken away
From the hurly-burly and fed.

Ladies and Gentlemen, said
The curious Socrates,
I have asked, What is this life
But a childermass,
As Abraham recognized,
A working with the knife
At animal, maid and stone
Until we have cut down
All but the soul alone:
Through hate we guard our love,
And its distinction's known.

Delmore Schwartz


Share |


Read poems about / on: animal, happiness, hate, fate, children, child, peace, pain, alone, life, love, work

 
  Comments about this poem (For The One Who Would Not Take His Life In His Hands by Delmore Schwartz )
Click here to write your comments about this poem (For The One Who Would Not Take His Life In His Hands by Delmore Schwartz )
 
  Miles French  (4/23/2007 7:22:00 PM)

Only Half is said -
Hate Distracts the one who would
 
  People who read Delmore Schwartz

 
 
  More classic poets:

      The complete list >>

 
  Top 500 Poems

  1. Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou
  2. Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
  3. If You Forget Me by Pablo Neruda
  4. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
  5. Dreams by Langston Hughes
  6. i carry your heart with me by ee cummings
  7. I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You by Pablo Neruda
  8. Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe
  9. The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
  10. I Crave Your Mouth, Your Voice, Your Hair by Pablo Neruda
  11. Television by Roald Dahl
  12. One Inch Tall by Shel Silverstein
  13. Warning by Jenny Joseph
  14. As I Grew Older by Langston Hughes
  15. A Dream Within A Dream by Edgar Allan Poe
  16. Fire and Ice by Robert Frost
  17. If by Rudyard Kipling
  18. On the Ning Nang Nong by Spike Milligan
  19. Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes
  20. "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth
  21. Alone by Edgar Allan Poe
  22. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost
  23. The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes
  24. Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas
  25. All That is Gold Does Not Glitter by JRR Tolkien
The complete list of Top 500 Poems >>
  Top 500 Poets

  1. Pablo Neruda
  2. Langston Hughes
  3. Maya Angelou
  4. Charles Bukowski
  5. ee cummings
  6. Shel Silverstein
  7. William Shakespeare
  8. Dylan Thomas
  9. Spike Milligan
  10. Billy Collins
  11. Emily Dickinson
  12. Khalil Gibran
  13. Sylvia Plath
  14. Dorothy Parker
  15. Elizabeth Bishop
  16. Ted Hughes
  17. Roald Dahl
  18. Robert Frost
  19. Walt Whitman
  20. Allen Ginsberg
  21. William Blake
  22. Edgar Allan Poe
  23. Mary Oliver
  24. Robert Browning
  25. William Wordsworth
The complete list of Top 500 Poets >>
 
 
  E-MAIL THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND
Found this page interesting? Recommend it to your friend!     Your E-mail:    Friend's Email:      
 

(c) Poems are the property of their respective owners. All information has been reproduced here for educational and informational purposes to benefit site visitors, and is provided at no charge..  About Us | Copyright notice | Privacy statement | Help
11/28/2009 3:56:39 AM. #.34# You Are Here: For The One Who Would Not Take His Life In His Hands by Delmore Schwartz

Home | Poets | Poems | Free Poetry eBooks | Contests | Sites | Submit a Poem | Manage Your Poems | GameGar | Contact Us

Christmas Poems | Love Poems | Pablo Neruda | Death Poems | Sad Poems | Birthday Poems | Wedding Poems | Annabel Lee | Sorry Poems