Ezra Pound

The Eyes

The Eyes - meaning Summary

Yearning for Sensory Freedom

Pound's poem presents a weary speaker pleading to set aside study and printed words. The voice asks for rest and release into the external world of colour, cooling woods, and natural sensations. Books and their monotonous black marks are contrasted with immediate life and a beloved smile that surpasses learned knowledge. The tone mixes fatigue and longing, valuing sensory experience and human connection over intellectual labor.

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Rest Master, for we be a-weary, weary And would feel the fingers of the wind Upon these lids that lie over us Sodden and lead-heavy. Rest brother, for lo ! the dawn is without ! The yellow flame paleth And the wax runs low. Free us, for without be goodly colours, Green of the wood-moss and flower colours, And coolness beneath the trees. Free us, for we perish In this ever-flowing monotony Of ugly print marks, black Upon white parchment. Free us, for there is one Whose smile more availeth Than all the age-old knowledge of thy books: And we would look thereon.

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