Classic and Contemporary Poetry
TO MELVIN GARDNER: SUICIDE, by JOHN CHARLES MCNEILL Poet's Biography First Line: A flight of doves, with wanton wings Last Line: And, oh, to be dead in may! Subject(s): Suicide | ||||||||
A flight of doves, with wanton wings, Flash white against the sky. In the leafy copse an oriole sings, And a robin sings hard by. Sun and shadow are out on the hills; The swallow has followed the daffodils; In leaf and blade, life throbs and thrills Through the wild, warm heart of May. To have seen the sun come back, to have seen Children again at play, To have heard the thrush where the woods are green Welcome the new-born day, To have felt the soft grass cool to the feet, To have smelt earth's incense, heavenly sweet, To have shared the laughter along the street, And, then, to have died in May! A thousand roses will blossom red, A thousand hearts be gay, For the summer lingers just ahead And June is on her way; The bee must bestir him to fill his cells, The moon and the stars will weave new spells Of love and the music of marriage bells -- And, oh, to be dead in May! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...BOARDMAN AND COFFIN by CONRAD AIKEN FOR THE SUICIDES OF TWO YEARS AGO by DONALD JUSTICE SEVEN STREAMS OF NEVIS by GALWAY KINNELL DIDO AND AENEAS by CHARLES MARTIN I COULD NOT TELL by SHARON OLDS POOR DEVIL! by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET THE DREAM SONGS: 145 by JOHN BERRYMAN AWAY DOWN HOME by JOHN CHARLES MCNEILL |
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