The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903, 1899-02-25

prayers,
And Great hand that led him unawares.
$50 he died rich. And If his eyes were
blurred
With big films silence! he Il In his grave.
Greatly he suffered, greatly, too. he erred,
Yet broke his heart In trying to Be brave.
Nor did he wait till Freedom had become
The popular shibboleth Of eourtief's lips,
lie smote for her when God himself
seemed dumb
And all Ills arching skies were In eclipse.
lie was a-wsary, but he fought his fight.
And stood for simple manhood, and was
joyed
To see the august broadening Of the light
And new earths heaving heavenward
from the void.
lie loved his fellows and their love was
Plant daisies at his head and at his feet"
George Moore, in his critique on Paul
Verlaine, says that a great poem IL tho
most indestructible thing in the world;
that II a great poem were cast in the
sands OF the Sahara desert or dropped
upon one OF the remote islands Of the
sea it would be recovered and accorded
it's place among the world'e priceless
possessions. The theory. accords we'll
with the fact that these scat'ere1 poems.
written for obscure journals published
10 out-of the way places. sired by
wandering vagrant, now q soldier, now
a tramp, now reformer. now q de-
bauche, who spent half bis life fleeing
from the consequences OF his own mis-.
takes, have been at last ferreted out,
collected, published and accorded tho
place OF distinction which 10 their due.
OF all the storm and stress Of this mans
life, OF all his innumerable follies and
unspeakable anguish, OF all his dreams
which were born on the mountain tops
only to die in the gutter, Of all his ten
dernees and pity and courage. these
three ecore poems are what remains. In
the language OF Mr.. Henry James, "How
much Of life 1t takes to make Q little
art!'
Every express ion OF tho human soul
through the medium Of art is valuable
either az art, or documentary evidence
upon life itself, as psychological data.
1t is impossible to Judge the verses Of
Richard ReaIf merely az poetry, They
were born in the stormy atmosphere of
overweight emotions and to the emo.
tions rather than to critical discrimina-
ton do they appeal. Simple human
anguish IL outside tho province OF cri,i.
cism. OF death scene enacted on tho
stage, deliberately planned, no matter
how intensely played CT how complete
the abandon Of the actor. one may coy
that it is we'll done or III done. But be.
fore death itself. criticism 10 dumb.
There are two sopnets by Realf, among
his beet, which are wonderfully revsla.
tory Of the two sides Of bis character.
the imperious frenzy Of bis personal
needs and desires to which he sacrificed
everything, and which drove him from
folly to folly. and tt Q beautiful tender.
ness, the true poet soul that lived and
suffered amid all these tempests until
the end. and made him beloved by oil
men, and by all women, save one.
PASSION.
l eleneh my arms about your neck until
The knuekles Of my hand grow white
with pain,
And my swollen muscles quives with the
strain,
And all the pulses Of my life stand still.
say clench 50. Ali you cannot tear
Yourself away from my mortal grip
OF forlorn tenderness and salt despair.
And child like sorrowing after fellow.hip,
And wolf-like hunger Of the famishing