Koheleth

By Louis Untermeyer 1885–1977 Louis Untermeyer

I waited and worked

To win myself leisure,

Till loneliness irked

And I turned to raw pleasure.

I drank and I gamed,

I feasted and wasted,

Till, sick and ashamed,

The food stood untasted.

I searched in the Book

For rooted convictions,

Till the badgered brain shook

With its own contradictions.

Then, done with the speech,

Of the foolishly lettered,

I started to teach

Life cannot be bettered:

That the warrior fails

Whatever his weapon,

And nothing avails

While time and chance happen.

That fools who assure men

With lies are respected,

While the vision of pure men

Is scorned and rejected.

That a wise man goes grieving

Even in Zion,

While any dog living

Outroars a dead lion.

Louis Untermeyer, “Koheleth” from Burning Bush (New York: Harcourt, 1928). Permission is granted by arrangement with the Estate of Louis Untermeyer, Norma Anchin Untermeyer c/o Professional Publishing Services. The reprint is granted with the expressed permission by Laurence S. Untermeyer.

Source: Burning Bush (1928)

Biography

Louis Untermeyer was the author, editor or compiler, and translator of more than one hundred books for readers of all ages. He will be best remembered as the prolific anthologist whose collections have introduced students to contemporary American poetry since 1919. The son of an established New York jeweler, Untermeyer's interest in poetry led to friendships with poets from three generations, including many of the century's . . .

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