The Glass by Marie Van Vorst (1909)

Name: The Glass
Author: Marie Van Vorst

The speaker meditates on the uncertain arrival of old age, imagining a time when hope fades, desire falls silent, and love remains alive but cold. Yet while hope and desire endure, the speaker longs to pass beyond ordinary limits, to “Break the Glass” of existence “unpierced by Vision,” and to behold the vast unfolding of centuries. Even if the speaker lives to great age, they imagine looking back upon strength, peace, the beloved, and a love that will finally enfold the heart like a fragrant cerement.

By Marie Van Vorst · First published 1909 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry, Contemplative Poetry · 214 words

First lines

When I am old! Oh Love, who well can say / Whether within a year, a month, a day / Or six times ten years that dead time shall come / When Hope is pale and wan Desire stands dumb, / And Love though living, clasps with fingers cold, / When we are old.

I think, perhaps, that Boundary's dim outline / Will not be crossed by these swift steps of mine, / But while Desire is warm, and Hope still thrills / I shall go hence and look from unseen hills / On mighty scrolls of centuries unrolled, / I still not old.

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The Glass is listed on Textopian as a poem by Marie Van Vorst, dated 1909 CE.

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Work type: Poem
Author: Marie Van Vorst
Date: 1909 CE
Language: English
Genres: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry, Contemplative Poetry, Philosophical Poetry, Romantic Poetry
Length: 214 words
Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

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Genres

Lyric Poetry — The work is a short, intensely personal meditation expressed through a first-person speaker, musical repetition, and emotional reflection rather than narrative action.
Love Poetry — Its central concern is enduring romantic love, especially the hope that love and the beloved will remain meaningful in old age and at death.
Contemplative Poetry — The speaker considers aging, mortality, desire, hope, memory, and the spiritual implications of a life viewed from its possible end.
Philosophical Poetry — The poem reflects on time, human limitation, vision, existence, and the boundary between life and death through abstract and symbolic language.