Anthology of Magazine Verse for 1921/Matter
MATTER
When I was a live man,
A few years ago,
For all I might say,
For all I could do,
A few years ago,
For all I might say,
For all I could do,
I got no attention;
My life was so small
The world didn't know
I was living at all.
My life was so small
The world didn't know
I was living at all.
Such stolid indifference
I couldn't allow;
I swore that I'd matter,
Never mind how.
I couldn't allow;
I swore that I'd matter,
Never mind how.
But after a lifetime
Of failure and prayer,
I broke my heart trying
To make the world care.
Of failure and prayer,
I broke my heart trying
To make the world care.
And now as I lie here,
Feeding this tree,
I am more to the world
Than it is to me.
Feeding this tree,
I am more to the world
Than it is to me.
The Century MagazineLouis Untermeyer