The Field of Glory
War shook the land where Levi dwelt,
And fired the dismal wrath he felt,
That such a doom was ever wrought
As his, to toil while others fought;
To toil, to dream -- and still to dream,
With one day barren as another;
To consummate, as it would seem
The dry despair of his old mother.
Far off one afternoon began
The sound of man destroying man;
And Levi. sick with nameless rage,
Condemned again his heritage,
And sighed for scars that might have come,
And would, if once he could have sundered
Those harsh, inhering claims of home
That held him while he cursed and wondered.
Another day, and then there came,
Rough, bloody, ribald, hungry, lame,
But yet themselves, to Levi's door,
Two remnants of the day before.
They laughed at him and what he sought;
They jeered him, and his painful acre;
But Levi knew that they had fought,
And left their manners to their Maker.
That night, for the grim widow's ears,
With hopes that hid themselves in fears,
He told of arms, and featly deeds,
Whereat one leaps the while he reads,
And said he'd be no more a clown,
While others drew the breath of battle.
The mother looked him up and down,
And laughed -- a scant laught with a rattle.
She told him what she found to tell,
And Levi listened, and heard well
Some admonitions of a voice
That left him no cause to rejoice.
He sought a friend, and found the stars,
And prayed aloud that they should aid him;
But they said not a word of wars,
Or of reason why God made him.
And who's of this or that estate
We do not wholly calculate,
When baffling shades that shift and cling
Are not without their glimmering;
When even Levi, tired of faith,
Beloved of none, forgot by many,
Dismissed as an inferior wraith,
Reborn may be as great as any.
poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Ol' gents on a bench(in the park after dark)
Ol’ gents on a bench (in the dark in the park)
Two grizzled ol’ gents
On a bench in the park
Talking sagely of baseball
In the late evening dark
“ya think there’s baseball in heaven? ”
Mused Shecky to Levi
Levi furrowed his brow deeply
As he sighed soft reply
With an old man’s wet wheeze
He sonorously said
tis fairly certain we’ll know
Shortly after we’re dead
Let’s make a deal, they solemnly proposed
Whoever goes first will return to reveal
If there’s bleachers to seat and hot dogs to eat
And heavenly bases to steal.
As fate would have it, Shecky passed on that very night
And the next night Levi on their bench sadly sat alone
When out of the night, giving Levi such a fright
Levi heard Shecky’s ghostly voice intone
“Levi, oh Levi! I have good news and bad
Levi, there’s baseball in heaven” Shecky said with delight
And the bad news my ol’ friend I hate to relate
is…you’re the starting pitcher tomorrow night.
poem by David Whalen
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Be Merciful, My God
(after Judah Ha-Levi)
Be merciful, my God, and I shall prosper.
Let not Your punishment sweep me down.
My life, my love, my existence depends on You.
You know every weakness,
You know even my greatest strength.
You are the one that is my constant companion,
who knows every thought, every word
even before I comprehend them.
Not only on Your companionship do I rely,
I draw my strength, my words and my life from You.
[Reference: 'Heal me, my God' by Judah Ha-Levi.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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Tales Of A Wayside Inn : Part 1. The Spanish Jew's Tale; The Legend of Rabbi Ben Levi
Rabbi Ben Levi, on the Sabbath, read
A volume of the Law, in which it said,
'No man shall look upon my face and live.'
And as he read, he prayed that God would give
His faithful servant grace with mortal eye
To look upon His face and yet not die.
Then fell a sudden shadow on the page,
And, lifting up his eyes, grown dim with age,
He saw the Angel of Death before him stand,
Holding a naked sword in his right hand.
Rabbi Ben Levi was a righteous man,
Yet through his veins a chill of terror ran.
With trembling voice he said, 'What wilt thou here?'
The angel answered, 'Lo! the time draws near
When thou must die; yet first, by God's decree,
Whate'er thou askest shall be granted thee.'
Replied the Rabbi, 'Let these living eyes
First look upon my place in Paradise.'
Then said the Angel, 'Come with me and look.'
Rabbi Ben Levi closed the sacred book,
And rising, and uplifting his gray head,
'Give me thy sword,' he to the Angel said,
'Lest thou shouldst fall upon me by the way.'
The angel smiled and hastened to obey,
Then led him forth to the Celestial Town,
And set him on the wall, whence, gazing down,
Rabbi Ben Levi, with his living eyes,
Might look upon his place in Paradise.
Then straight into the city of the Lord
The Rabbi leaped with the Death-Angel's sword,
And through the streets there swept a sudden breath
Of something there unknown, which men call death.
Meanwhile the Angel stayed without and cried,
'Come back!' To which the Rabbi's voice replied,
'No! in the name of God, whom I adore,
I swear that hence I will depart no more!'
Then all the Angels cried, 'O Holy One,
See what the son of Levi here hath done!
The kingdom of Heaven he takes by violence,
And in Thy name refuses to go hence!'
The Lord replied, 'My Angels, be not wroth;
Did e'er the son of Levi break his oath?
Let him remain; for he with mortal eye
Shall look upon my face and yet not die.'
Beyond the outer wall the Angel of Death
Heard the great voice, and said, with panting breath,
'Give back the sword, and let me go my way.'
Whereat the Rabbi paused, and answered, 'Nay!
Anguish enough already hath it caused
Among the sons of men.' And while he paused
He heard the awful mandate of the Lord
Resounding through the air, 'Give back the sword!'
The Rabbi bowed his head in silent prayer;
Then said he to the dreadful Angel, 'Swear,
No human eye shall look on it again;
But when thou takest away the souls of men,
Thyself unseen, and with an unseen sword,
Thou wilt perform the bidding of the Lord.'
The Angel took the sword again, and swore,
And walks on earth unseen forevermore.
poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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The world began without man, and it will complete itself without him.
quote by Claude Levi-Strauss
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Language is a form of human reason, which has its internal logic of which man knows nothing.
quote by Claude Levi-Strauss
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The University conceives of itself as dedicated to the power of the intellect. Its commitment is to the way of reason.
quote by Edward Levi
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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One voice can enter ten ears, but ten voices cannot enter one ear.
quote by Leone Levi
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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You know, I’m kind of proud of my battle wounds. Very few people on earth have ever been able to say they got 14 stitches playing Nintendo.
quote by Zachary Levi
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Gifts make slaves.
quote by Levi Strauss
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The aims of life are the best defense against death.
quote by Primo Levi
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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My vintage Levi's are my favorite on the show, 'cause they really fit.
quote by Laura Prepon
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I always have the excuse that I would have gone to college if I applied myself. I don’t know, I think I’m an intelligent guy.
quote by Zachary Levi
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Universities are the custodians not only of the many cultures of man, but of the rational process itself.
quote by Edward Levi
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Put three Zionists in a room and they will form four political parties.
quote by Levi Eshkol
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Just as the individual is not alone in the group, nor any one in society alone among the others, so man is not alone in the universe.
quote by Claude Levi-Strauss
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Really, what are the options? Levi's or Wranglers. And you just pick one. It's one of those life choices.
quote by Harrison Ford
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The scientific mind does not so much provide the right answers as ask the right questions.
quote by Claude Levi-Strauss
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he is one who asks the right questions.
quote by Claude Levi-Strauss
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Levi's can produce many more Western jeans than we can and make them at a better price.
quote by Calvin Klein
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he's one who asks the right questions.
quote by Claude Levi-Strauss
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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