Poems (Cromwell)/Choice

by Gladys Cromwell

For works with similar titles, see Choice.

CHOICE

Imperious Time, I must prefer Thy just necessity: Resign the silent, earlier Beliefs grown dear to me.

The stillness left alternatives To youth, a freedom wide And dim as dreaming, but man lives, And must one day decide.

There is a doom the years compel: I must approach the goal Decreed, where it behooves me dwell: I must declare my soul;

Must speak and choose what stars pertain To me; needs must I rest In their most intimate beams, remain Committed and confessed.

I claim a tent of stars in place Of heaven's confusing dome: A tent of stars in a dark space—The sky must be my home.

I must adopt a finer scope, A tent of stars in space—Affiliated flames, a hope Auroral creeds embrace.