The Ideal
A poem
“Not the treasures is it that have awakened in me so unspeakable a desire, but the Blue Flower is what I long to behold.” – Novalis
Something I may not win attracts me ever, —
Something elusive, yet supremely fair;
Thrills me with gladness, yet contents me never,
Fills me with sadness, yet forbids despair.
It blossoms just beyond the paths I follow,
It shines beyond the farthest stars I see;
It echoes faint from ocean caverns hollow,
And from the land of dreams it beckons me.
It calls, and all my best, with joyful feeling,
Essays to reach it as I make reply;
I feel its sweetness o’er my spirit stealing,
Yet know ere I attain it I must die!