Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE LAST LOOK; W.W. SWAIN, by OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: Behold - not him we knew! Last Line: And death himself shall die! Subject(s): Death; Swain, William W.; Dead, The | ||||||||
BEHOLD -- not him we knew! This was the prison which his soul looked through, Tender, and brave, and true. His voice no more is heard; And his dead name -- that dear familiar word -- Lies on our lips unstirred. He spake with poet's tongue; Living, for him the minstrel's lyre was strung: He shall not die unsung! Grief tried his love, and pain; And the long bondage of his martyr-chain Vexed his sweet soul, -- in vain! It felt life's surges break, As, girt with stormy seas, his island lake, Smiling while tempests wake. How can we sorrow more? Grieve not for him whose heart had gone before To that untrodden shore! Lo, through its leafy screen, A gleam of sunlight on a ring of green, Untrodden, half unseen! Here let his body rest, Where the calm shadows that his soul loved best May slide above his breast. Smooth his uncurtained bed; And if some natural tears are softly shed, It is not for the dead. Fold the green turf aright For the long hours before the morning's light, And say the last Good Night! And plant a clear white stone Close by those mounds which hold his loved, his own, -- Lonely, but not alone. Here let him sleeping lie, Till Heaven's bright watchers slumber in the sky And Death himself shall die! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A FRIEND KILLED IN THE WAR by ANTHONY HECHT FOR JAMES MERRILL: AN ADIEU by ANTHONY HECHT TARANTULA: OR THE DANCE OF DEATH by ANTHONY HECHT CHAMPS D?ÇÖHONNEUR by ERNEST HEMINGWAY NOTE TO REALITY by TONY HOAGLAND A BALLAD OF THE BOSTON TEA-PARTY [DECEMBER 16, 1773] by OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES |
|