Here you will find thePoemExcelsiorof poet Francis William Bourdillon
If one should strive to reach a star, He would not build a ladder high, Seek foot by foot to climb so far, And step by step ascend the sky; But he would seek the wild bird?s wings, The secret of the lightning?s play, Leap out upon the night?s blue rings, And hail at dawn his wished-for day. I will not vainly seek to thee By ladder-steps of wealth or fame, Till some few feet below me be The world, thy distance still the same. But I will seek that influence By which all nature?s marvels move, Till I, by flash or flight from hence, Win to thee as on wings of Love.
