“The title of poet's a noble thing, worth living and dying for,
Though all the devils on earth and in Hell spit at me their disdain.
It is stern work, it is perilous work, to thrust your hand in the sun
And pull out a spark of immortal flame to warm the hearts of men:
But Prometheus, torn by the claws and beaks whose task is never done,
Would be tortured another eternity to go stealing fire again.”

—  Joyce Kilmer

Main Street and Other Poems (1917), The Proud Poet

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Joyce Kilmer photo
Joyce Kilmer 42
American poet, editor, literary critic, soldier 1886–1918

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