Faust monologue — Mr. Faust

I see the light that waits you on the peak; And my heart follows you. But my stern soul Plucks me yet back with cold insistency I cannot master.... Go! If I could pray, My prayers should follow you. My visions shall; My love shall fold you. But I cannot come Where you shall go; I cannot cast aside All that I surely know--this pitiful And shattered mortal life, with its strange gleams And shadows--and embrace the icy void Where Being trembles on the final verge. To bid life cease--but linger as the moon Lingers in heaven--ah, that is horrible Beyond life's proper horrors!... Were my pain A single atom greater--were my soul A single breath more weary--I would come. But now I must confront the winds of heaven Still master of my destinies.... To the last, Not in such tomb-world can my spirit rest. No golden clouds that throng Nirvana's gates Shall tempt me there to enter and resign My right to strain beyond all gates that be.... But you I cannot counsel....