19 Jan 1864 Jahr - "Had I not This, or This, I said,"

Beschreibung:

Had I not This, or This, I said,
Appealing to Myself,
In moment of prosperity -
Inadequate - were Life -

"Thou hast not Me, nor Me" - it said,
In moment of Reverse -
"And yet Thou art industrious -
No need - had'st Thou - of us - "?

My need - was all I had - I said
The need did not reduce -
Because the food - exterminate -
The hunger - does not cease -

But diligence - is sharper -
Proportioned to the chance -
To feed upon the Retrogade -
Enfeebles - the Advance -

This poem, while it does not directly address industry, offers an interesting take on human endeavor and the satisfaction we may find (or not find) therein. In dialogue with the changes in Amherst at the time, the unceasing "hunger" for progress takes on a slightly different hue.