George Santayana (1863-1952)
I would I might Forget that I am I
Sonnet VII
1I would I might forget that I am I,
2And break the heavy chain that binds me fast,
3Whose links about myself my deeds have cast.
4What in the body's tomb doth buried lie
5Is boundless; 'tis the spirit of the sky,
6Lord of the future, guardian of the past,
7And soon must forth, to know his own at last.
8In his large life to live, I fain would die.
9Happy the dumb beast, hungering for food,
10But calling not his suffering his own;
11Blessèd the angel, gazing on all good,
12But knowing not he sits upon a throne;
13Wretched the mortal, pondering his mood,
14And doomed to know his aching heart alone.
Online text copyright © 2009, Ian Lancashire (the Department of English) and the University of Toronto.
Published by the Web Development Group, Information Technology Services, University of Toronto Libraries.
Original text: George Santayana, Sonnets and Other Verses (New York: Stone and Kimball, 1896): 9. PS 2771 1896 Robarts Library
First publication date:
1996
RPO poem editor: Ian Lancashire
RP edition: 2003
Recent editing: 1:2003/10/4
Form: sonnet
Rhyme: abbaabbacdcdcd
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