Classic Poem

Whence? Whither? Where?—A taper point of light,
My life and world,—the infinite around;
A sea, not even highest thought can sound;
A formless void; unchanging, endless night.

In vain the struggling spirit aims its flight
To the empyrean, seen as is a star,
Sole glimmering through the hazy night afar,—
In vain it beats its wings with daring might.

What yonder gleams? What heavenly shapes arise
From out the bodiless waste? Behold the dawn,
Sent from on high! Uncounted ages gone,
Burst full and glorious on my wondering eyes:
Sun-clear the world around, and far away
A boundless future sweeps in golden day.