On The Road to Nowhere: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 11:55, 17 July 2024

Bibliographic Information
Author	Lindsay, Vachel
Genre	Poetry
Journal or Book	Selected Poems of Vachel Lindsay
Publisher	Macmillan
Year of Publication	1916
Pages	101-102
Additional information	This poem was originally published in 1916. We took this poem from a volume edited by Mark Harris which was published in 1963.

Upon Returning to the Country Road

rural

On the road to nowhere
What wild oats did you sow
When you left your father's house
With your cheeks aglow?
Eyes so strained and eager
To see what you might see?
Were you thief of were you fool
Or most nobly free?

Were the tramp-days knightly,
True sowing of wild seed?
Did you dare to make the songs
Vanquished workmen need?
Did you waste much money
To deck a leper's feast?
Love the truth, defy the crowd
Scandalize the priest?
On the road to nowhere
What wild oats did you sow?
Stupids find the nowhere-road
Dusty, grim and slow.

metaphorplantroad conditionslowness

Ere their sowing's ended
They turn them on their track,
Look at the caitiff craven wights
Repentant, hurrying back!
Grown ashamed of nowhere,
Of rags endured for years,
Lust for velvet in their hearts,
Pierced with Mammon's spears,
All but a few fanatics
Give up their darling goal,
Seek to be as others are,
Stultify the soul.
Reapings now confront them,
Glut them, or destroy.
Curious seeds, grain or weeds
Sown with awful joy.
Hurried is their harvest,
They make soft peace with men.
Pilgrims pass. They care not,
Will not tramp again.

O nowhere, golden nowhere!
Sages and fools go on
To your chaotic ocean,
To your tremendous dawn.
Far in your fair dream-haven,
Is nothing or is all...
They press on, singing, sowing
Wild deeds without recall!

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 <meta
-   author="Lindsay, Nicholas Vachel"
+   author="Lindsay, Vachel"
+additional_information="This poem was originally published in 1916. We took this poem from a volume edited by Mark Harris which was published in 1963."
    year_of_publication="1916"
    genre="Poetry"
    publisher="Macmillan"
-   journal="Adventures While Preaching the Gospel of Beauty"
+   journal="Selected Poems of Vachel Lindsay"
-   page_range="99-100"
+   page_range="101-102"
 />
 <annotations>
@@ Line 19: / Line 20: @@
 <paragraph keywords="">
 <poem>
-Even the shrewd and bitter,
+On the road to nowhere
-Gnarled by the old world's greed,
+What wild oats did you sow
-Cherished the stranger softly
+When you left your father's house
-Seeing his utter need.
+With your cheeks aglow?
-Shelter and patient hearing,
+Eyes so strained and eager
-These were their gifts to him,
+To see what you might see?
-To the minstrel, grimly begging,
+Were you thief of were you fool
-As the sunset-fire grew dim.
+Or most nobly free?
-The rich said "You are welcome."
+</poem>
-Yea, even the rich were good.
+</paragraph>
-How strange that in their feasting
-His songs were understood!
-The doors of the poor were open,
+<paragraph keywords="metaphor, plant, road condition, slowness">
-The poor who had wandered too,
+<poem>
-Who had slept with ne'er a roof-tree
+Were the tramp-days knightly,
-Under the wind and dew.
+True sowing of wild seed?
-The minds of the poor were open,
+Did you dare to make the songs
-Their dark mistrust was dead:
+Vanquished workmen need?
-They loved his wizard stories,
+Did you waste much money
-They bought his rhymes with bread.
+To deck a leper's feast?
+Love the truth, defy the crowd
+Scandalize the priest?
+On the road to nowhere
+What wild oats did you sow?
+Stupids find the nowhere-road
+Dusty, grim and slow.
+</poem>
+</paragraph>
+<paragraph keywords="">
+<poem>
+Ere their sowing's ended
+They turn them on their track,
+Look at the caitiff craven wights
+Repentant, hurrying back!
+Grown ashamed of nowhere,
+Of rags endured for years,
+Lust for velvet in their hearts,
+Pierced with Mammon's spears,
+All but a few fanatics
+Give up their darling goal,
+Seek to be as others are,
+Stultify the soul.
+Reapings now confront them,
+Glut them, or destroy.
+Curious seeds, grain or weeds
+Sown with awful joy.
+Hurried is their harvest,
+They make soft peace with men.
+Pilgrims pass. They care not,
+Will not tramp again.
 </poem>
 </paragraph>
@@ Line 45: / Line 78: @@
 <paragraph keywords="">
 <poem>
-Those were his days of glory,
+O nowhere, golden nowhere!
-Of faith in his fellow-men.
+Sages and fools go on
-Therefore, to-day the singer
+To your chaotic ocean,
-Turns beggar once again.
+To your tremendous dawn.
+Far in your fair dream-haven,
+Is nothing or is all...
+They press on, singing, sowing
+Wild deeds without recall!
 </poem>
 </paragraph>
 </annotations>