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Rhymes And Rhythms - IX

By William Ernest Henley

Topics: classic

'As like the Woman as you can',      (Thus the New Adam was beguiled)     'So shall you touch the Perfect Man',      (God in the Garden heard and smiled).     'Your father perished with his day:      'A clot of passions fierce and blind     'He fought, he slew, he hacked his way:      'Your muscles, Child, must be of mind.     'The Brute that lurks and irks within,      'How, till you have him gagged and bound,     'Escape the foullest form of Sin?'      (God in the Garden laughed and frowned).     'So vile, so rank, the bestial mood      'In which the race is bid to be,     'It wrecks the Rarer Womanhood:      'Live, therefore, you, for Purity!     'Take for your mate no buxom croup,      'No girl all grace and natural will:     'To make her happy were to stoop      'From light to dark, from Good to Ill.     'Choose one of whom your grosser make',      (God in the Garden laughed outright)     'The true refining touch may take      'Till both attain Life's highest height.     'There, equal, purged of soul and sense,      'Beneficent, high-thinking, just,     'Beyond the appeal of Violence,      'Incapable of common Lust,     'In mental Marriage still prevail',      (God in the Garden hid His face)     'Till you achieve that Female-Male,      'In Which shall culminate the race.

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"'As like the Woman as you can',..."

This evocative piece by William Ernest Henley, titled "Rhymes And Rhythms - IX", represents a masterful exploration of classic. The lines capture a profound emotional resonance... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

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Author:William Ernest Henley

"'As like the Woman as you can',..." by William Ernest Henley

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William Ernest Henley

About William Ernest Henley

William Ernest Henley (1849–1903) was an English poet, critic, and editor best known for his poem "Invictus" ("I am the master of my fate / I am the captain of my soul"). Written while recovering from tuberculosis of the bone, it has become one of the most quoted poems of courage and resilience.

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"What have I done for you,     England, my England?..."

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