Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE PHOTOGRAPH, by THOMAS HARDY Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: The flame crept up the portrait line by line Last Line: If in heaven, did she smile at me sadly and shake her head? Subject(s): Photography & Photographers | ||||||||
THE flame crept up the portrait line by line As it lay on the coals in the silence of night's profound, And over the arm's incline, And along the marge of the silkwork superfine, And gnawed at the delicate bosom's defenceless round. Then I vented a cry of hurt, and averted my eyes; The spectacle was one that I could not bear, To my deep and sad surprise; But, compelled to heed, I again looked furtivewise Till the flame had eaten her breasts, and mouth, and hair. 'Thank God, she is out of it now!' I said at last, In a great relief of heart when the thing was done That had set my soul aghast, And nothing was left of the picture unsheathed from the past But the ashen ghost of the card it had figured on. She was a woman long hid amid packs of years, She might have been living or dead; she was lost to my sight, And the deed that had nigh drawn tears Was done in a casual clearance of life's arrears; But I felt as if I had put her to death that night!... - Well; she knew nothing thereof did she survive, And suffered nothing if numbered among the dead; Yet - yet - if on earth alive Did she feel a smart, and with vague strange anguish strive? If in heaven, did she smile at me sadly and shake her head? | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...VISIT WITH AN OLD MODEL AT NORWOOD by SCOTT HIGHTOWER PHOTO OF A MAN ON SUNSET DRIVE: 1914, 2008 by RICHARD BLANCO ALL OF US BENEATH RED COWBOY HATS by ANDREW HUDGINS TO THE RETURNED GIRLS by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS UPON SEEING AN ULTRASOUND PHOTO OF AN UNBORN CHILD by THOMAS LUX FOUR POEMS ABOUT JAMAICA: 2. JAMAICANS POSING TO BE PHOTOGRAPHED by WILLIAM MATTHEWS PHOTO OF THE AUTHOR WITH A FAVORITE PIG by WILLIAM MATTHEWS AND THERE WAS A GREAT CALM' by THOMAS HARDY |
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