[Skip Navigation]

Poetry Archives

A continuing selection of classic and contemporary poems.

The Gift Of Life

E. (Edith) Nesbit

Life is a night all dark and wild,
Yet still stars shine:
This moment is a star, my child—
Your star and mine.

Life is a desert dry and drear,
Undewed, unblest;
This hour is an oasis, dear;
Here let us rest.

Life is a sea of windy spray,
Cold, fierce and free:
An isle enchanted is to-day
For you and me.

Forget night, sea, and desert:  take
The gift supreme,
And, of life’s brief relenting, make
A deathless dream.
Online text © 1998-2008 Poetry X. All rights reserved.
From Many Voices | Hutchinson and Co., 1922
Add Keyword Tags

Separate each tag with a space. You may add as many tags as you'd like to each poem.

What are tags?
Tags, sometimes called “folksonomies,” are words that describe or categorize a poem, like “20th century modernism” or “Italian sonnet”. Tags can help you find poems that have something in common, based on how other people classify them.

More Info

This site will work and look better in a browser that supports web standards, but it is accessible to any Internet device.