PROEM
"SO LET THEM PASS, THESE SONGS OF
MINE"
So let them pass, these songs of mine, Into oblivion, nor repine;
Abandoned ruins of large schemes, Dimmed lights adrift from nobler
dreams,
Weak wings I sped on quests divine, So let them pass, these songs of
mine. They soar, or sink ephemeral-- I care not greatly which befall!
For if no song I e\'er had wrought, Still have I loved and laughed and
fought; So let them pass, these songs of mine; I sting too hot with life to
whine!
Still shall I struggle, fail, aspire, Lose God, and find Gods in the mire,
And drink dream-deep life\'s heady wine-- So let them pass, these songs of
mine.