Optimism, Voltairine de Cleyre: Summary & Analysis
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"Optimism" by Voltairine de Cleyre presents a hopeful perspective on life and the afterlife, emphasizing the interconnectedness of love, growth, and transcendence. Through vivid imagery and metaphors, the poem explores the idea that love, tears, and even fleeting moments of joy contribute to a greater cosmic harmony beyond earthly existence. The poem's message is one of reassurance and faith in the enduring value of human experience. Optimism
There's a love supreme in the great hereafter,
The buds of earth are blooms in heaven;
The smiles of the world are ripples of laughter
When back to its Aidenn the soul is given:
And the tears of the world, though long in flowing,
Water the fields of the bye-and-bye;
They fall as dews on the sweet grass growing
When the fountains of sorrow and grief run dry.
Though clouds hang over the furrows now sowing
There's a harvest sun-wreath in the After-sky!
No love is wasted, no heart beats vainly,
There's a vast perfection beyo…