Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE BROKEN APPOINTMENT, by JOHN KENYON


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE BROKEN APPOINTMENT, by                    
First Line: I sought at morn the beechen bower
Last Line: Born but to die!
Subject(s): Love - Nature Of


I SOUGHT at morn the beechen bower,
Thy verdant grot;
It came, -- it went, -- the promised hour, --
I found thee not.
Light zephyrs from the quivering boughs
Soon brush'd the transient dew,
Then first I fear'd that Dove's own vows
Were transient too!

At eve I sought the well-known stream
Where, wont to rove,
We breathed so oft, by twilight gleam,
Our vows of love;
I stopp'd upon the pleasant brink,
And saw the wave glide past;
Ah me! I could not help but think
Love glides as fast.

Then, all along the moonlight glen
So soft, so fair, --
I sought thy truant steps agen, --
Thou wert not there.
The clouds held on their busy way
Athwart the waning moon;
And such, I said, Love's fitful ray,
And wanes as soon.

Oh! I had cull'd thee a wreath
Of blossoms rare;
But now each floweret droops beneath
The chill night-air.
'Tis past, -- long past, our latest hour,
And yet thou art not nigh;
Oh! Love, thou art indeed a flower
Born but to die!





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