| Rupert Brooke (1887–1915). Collected Poems. 1916. |
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| I. 1905–1908 |
| 12. Failure |
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| BECAUSE God put His adamantine fate | |
| Between my sullen heart and its desire, | |
| I swore that I would burst the Iron Gate, | |
| Rise up, and curse Him on His throne of fire. | |
| Earth shuddered at my crown of blasphemy, | 5 |
| But Love was as a flame about my feet; | |
| Proud up the Golden Stair I strode; and beat | |
| Thrice on the Gate, and entered with a cry— | |
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| All the great courts were quiet in the sun, | |
| And full of vacant echoes: moss had grown | 10 |
| Over the glassy pavement, and begun | |
| To creep within the dusty council-halls. | |
| An idle wind blew round an empty throne | |
| And stirred the heavy curtains on the walls. | |
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