Go, dumb-born book,
Tell her that sang me once that song of Lawes:
Hadst thou but song
As thou hast subjects known,
Then were there cause in thee that should condone
Even my faults that heavy upon me lie
And build her glories their longevity.
Tell her that sheds
Such treasure in the air,
Recking naught else but that her graces give
Life to the moment,
I would bid them live
As roses might, in magic amber laid,
Red overwrought with orange and all made
One substance and one colour
Braving time.
Tell her that goes
With song upon her lips
But sings not out the song, nor knows
The maker of it, some other mouth,
May be as fair as hers,
Might, in new ages, gain her worshippers,
When our two dusts with Waller’s shall be laid,
Siftings on siftings in oblivion,
Till change hath broken down
All things save Beauty alone.

Analysis, meaning and summary of Ezra Pound's poem Envoi

5 Comments

  1. Sheryl Skoglund says:

    envoi

    the usually explanatory or commendatory concluding remarks to a poem, essay, or book. The term is specifically used to mean a short, fixed final stanza of a poem (such as a ballade) pointing the moral and usually addressing the person to whom the poem is written. Although they are most often associated with the ballade.

  2. Robert says:

    Sorry that Envoi didn’t work for you, Nikoli. I think it’s lovely, and I can read it over and over. The language and the sentiments are to my liking. Problem is, it’s an old man’s poem, not a young man’s poem, or a young woman’s poem.

    Save it for 50 or 60 years. It will still be around.

  3. Robert says:

    Sorry that Envoi didn’t work for you, Nikoli. I think it’s lovely, and I can read it over and over. The language and the sentiments are to my liking. Problem is, it’s an old man’s poem, not a young man’s poem, or a young woman’s poem.

    Save it for 50 or 60 years. It will still be around.

  4. Nikoli says:

    I really hate this poem. I had to recite this infront of my class becuase I was a retard and chose this poem even though I could pick any poem I wanted! Ya… I got a C for my grade and I Feel like A ComPleTe FaIluRe…….

  5. Livia says:

    Wonderfully written, reminds to me Keats’ “ode on a grecian urn” with the last verse: “beauty is truth and truth is beauty, this is all we know and all we need to know”. A pure pleasure.

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