SELF-DEPENDENCE<\/p>\n
Weary of myself, and sick of asking<\/p>\n
What I am, and what I ought to be,<\/p>\n
At this vessel’s prow I stand, which bears me<\/p>\n
Forwards, forwards, o’er the starlit sea.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And a look of passionate desire<\/p>\n
O’er the sea and to the stars I send:<\/p>\n
“Ye who from my childhood up have calmed me,<\/p>\n
Calm me, ah, compose me to the end!”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
‘Ah, once more,” I cried, “ye stars, ye waters,<\/p>\n
On my heart your mighty charm renew;<\/p>\n
Still, still let me, as I gaze upon you,<\/p>\n
Feel my soul becoming vast like you!”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
From the intense, clear,star-sown vault of heaven,<\/p>\n
Over the lit sea’s unquiet way,<\/p>\n
In the\u00a0 rustling night-air came the answer,–<\/p>\n
“Would thou be as these are? Live as they.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Unaffrighted by the silence round them,<\/p>\n Undistracted by the sights they see,<\/p>\n These demand not that the things without them<\/p>\n Yield them love, amusement, sympathy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “And with joy the stars perform their shining,<\/p>\n And the sea its long moon-silvered roll;<\/p>\n For self-poised they live, nor pine with noting<\/p>\n All the fever of some differing soul.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Bounded by themselves, and unregardful<\/p>\n In what state God’s other works may be,<\/p>\n In their own tasks all their powers pouring,<\/p>\n These attain the mighty life you see.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n O air-born voice! long since, severely clear,<\/p>\n A cry like thine in mine own heart I hear,–<\/p>\n “Resolve to be thyself; and know,that he<\/p>\n Who finds himself loses his misery!”\u00a0 Matthew Arnold.<\/p>\n Islander.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SELF-DEPENDENCE Weary of myself, and sick of asking What I am, and what I ought to be, At this vessel’s prow I stand, which bears me Forwards, forwards, o’er the starlit sea. And a look of passionate desire O’er the sea and to the stars I send: “Ye who from my childhood up have … Continue reading “Matthew Arnold”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1129","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewalrussaid.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewalrussaid.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewalrussaid.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewalrussaid.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewalrussaid.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1129"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thewalrussaid.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1130,"href":"https:\/\/thewalrussaid.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1129\/revisions\/1130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewalrussaid.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}