My life has been the poem by Henry David Thoreau

My life has been the poem by Henry David Thoreau

My life has been the poem I would have writ,
But I could not both live and utter it. 

     It is frequently the case in poetry that the most powerful verse is also the simplest, most concise thought expressed in a matching brevity.  Thoreau proves this with My life has been the poem, one of the most meaningful ideas I have ever been exposed to, in poetry or any other venue.  Without the pomp and circumstance of many writers (I know, pot-to-the-kettle) he delivers a forced embrace of one's works, both past and future.  With nineteen words he is able to make the reader question his or her life, to make them plan or scheme for something that they have longed for but never really labored towards.  No direct criticism, no appeal to moral or ethical law, no puritanical fervor, but also no praise or commendation is found within these two lines.  A simple statement of reasoning is all that is expressed, and yet a profound effect is produced, not by Thoreau, but by the reader's own perception and belief in the words.  Bouncing to and fro throughout their mind, the poem lends itself as a catalyst, and with one spark of imagination or hope, a conflagration is ignited.  The burning spreads throughout the mind-scape, giving precedence to forgotten memories and dreams, clearing the detritus from the neural pathways and allowing regrowth to take over and flourish.  Inspiring, potent, and most of all provoking, My life has been the poem by Henry David Thoreau is a classic of American poetic style, and one of the greatest poems of all time.