Explore "Desire" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Lo, I desire! Sum of the ages' growth- / Fruit of evolving-king of life- / I, holding in myself the outgrown past / In all its ever-rising forms-desire. / With the first grass-blade, I desire the sun; / With every bird that breathes, I love the air; / With fishes, joy in water; with my horse, / Exult in motion; with all living flesh, / Long for sweet food and warmth and mate and young; / With the whole rising tide of that which is, / Thirst for advancement,-crave and yearn for it! / Yea, I desire! Then the compelling will / Urges to action to attain desire. / What action? Which desire? Am I a plant, / Rooted and helpless, following the light / Without volition? Or am I a beast, / Led by desire into the hunter's snare? / Am I a savage, swayed by every wish, / Brutal and feeble, a ferocious child? / Stand back, Desire, and put your plea in words. / No wordless wailing for the summer moon, / No Gilpin race on some strong appetite, / Stand here before the King, and make your plea. / If Reason sees it just, you have your wish; / If not, your wish is vain, plead as you will. / The court is open, beggar! I am King!