Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, TO MY SON, by GEORGE GORDON BYRON


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TO MY SON, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Those flaxen locks, those eyes of blue
Last Line: Will ne'er desert its pledge, my boy!
Alternate Author Name(s): Byron, Lord; Byron, 6th Baron
Subject(s): Sons


THOSE flaxen locks, those eyes of blue,
Bright as thy mother's in their hue;
Those rosy lips, whose dimples play
And smile to steal the heart away,
Recall a scene of former joy,
And touch thy father's heart, my Boy!

And thou canst lisp a father's name --
Ah, William, were thine own the same, --
No self-reproach -- but, let me cease --
My care for thee shall purchase peace;
Thy mother's shade shall smile in joy,
And pardon all the past, my Boy!

Her lowly grave the turf has prest,
And thou hast known a stranger's breast;
Derision sneers upon thy birth,
And yields thee scarce a name on earth;
Yet shall not these one hope destroy, --
A Father's heart is thine, my Boy!

Why, let the world unfeeling frown,
Must I fond Nature's claim disown?
Ah, no -- though moralists reprove,
I hail thee, dearest child of love,
Fair cherub, pledge of youth and joy --
A Father guards thy birth, my Boy!

Oh, 't will be sweet in thee to trace,
Ere age has wrinkled o'er my face,
Ere half my glass of life is run,
At once a brother and a son;
And all my wane of years employ
In justice done to thee, my Boy!

Although so young thy heedless sire,
Youth will not damp parental fire;
And, wert thou still less dear to me,
While Helen's form revives in thee,
The breast, which beat to former joy,
Will ne'er desert its pledge, my Boy!





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