Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, SONNET, by ANN HAMILTON (1902-)


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SONNET, by                    
First Line: When I was far too young to comprehend
Last Line: And wonder at the whiteness of his hair.
Alternate Author Name(s): Hamilton, Anna E.; Hamilton, A. E.; Hamilton, Anne E.
Subject(s): Grandparents; Grandmothers; Grandfathers; Great Grandfathers; Great Grandmothers


When I was far too young to comprehend,
My great-grandfather one day talked to me
As if I were his wise and aged friend
And did not hold a new doll on my knee.
I can remember how his voice was kind,
But what he said I could not understand;
Only these words clung oddly in my mind:
"To burn out like a candle in God's hand" . . .
What other words he uttered I forget.
These are like rubies from a ring unrolled
That in my fingers wait to be reset
When I learn better how to work with gold.
Yet when he spoke them, all I did was stare
And wonder at the whiteness of his hair.





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