I gave in to the sadness by
  The long paths of the seas;
  The temporal we struggle with’s
  Gestational disease —-

  For though we have dominion, we
  Are rolled and reeled and ruled,
  And when we think we understand —
  That’s when we’re really fooled.

I gave in to the years, and all
  My experiential ghosts;
  The ardors, and the arbors, and
  The armor-bearing hosts —-

  Then closed my eyes to living sense,
  So I could see again
  The never-was I cling to, here among
  What should have been.

For all of us have all of this
  To do with as we please:
  Our innocence, receding down
  The long paths of
 
  The seas