Classic and Contemporary Poetry
FOR YOU, by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: For you, I could forget the gay Last Line: "what could I not forget for you?" Alternate Author Name(s): Johnson Of Boone, Benj. F. Subject(s): Death; Life; Love - Nature Of; Dead, The | ||||||||
FOR you, I could forget the gay Delirium of merriment, And let my laughter die away In endless silence of content. I could forget, for your dear sake, The utter emptiness and ache Of every loss I ever knew. -- What could I not forget for you? I could forget the just deserts Of mine own sins, and so erase The tear that burns, the smile that hurts, And all that mars and masks my face. For your fair sake I could forget The bonds of life that chafe and fret, Nor care if death were false or true. -- What could I not forget for you? What could I not forget? Ah me! One thing I know would still abide Forever in my memory, Though all of love were lost beside -- I yet would feel how first the wine Of your sweet lips made fools of mine Until they sung, all drunken through -- "What could I not forget for you?" | 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 BOY'S MOTHER by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY |
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