Classic and Contemporary Poetry
EPITAPH ON A CHILD KILLED BY PROCURED ABORTION, by ANONYMOUS First Line: "o thou, whose eyes were closed in death's pale night" Last Line: "love, spite of honour's dictates, gave thee breath; / honour,in spite of love, pronounced thy death Subject(s): Abortion | ||||||||
O THOU, whose eyes were closed in death's pale night, Ere fate revealed thee to my aching sight; Ambiguous something, by no standard fixed, Frail span, of naught and of existence mixed; Embryo, imperfect as my tort'ring thought, Sad outcast of existence and of naught; Thou, who to guilty love first ow'st thy frame, Whom guilty honour kills to hide its shame; Dire offspring! formed by love's too pleasing pow'r! Honour's dire victim in a luckless hour! Soften the pangs that still revenge thy doom: Nor, from the dark abyss of nature's womb, Where back I cast thee, let revolving time Call up past scenes to aggravate my crime. Two adverse tyrants ruled thy wayward fate, Thyself a helpless victim to their hate; Love, spite of honour's dictates, gave thee breath; Honour, in spite of love, pronounced thy death. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...BLACKOUT SONNETS by JOAN LARKIN POEM FOR MYSELF AND MEI: ABORTION by LESLIE MARMON SILKO FOR THESE CONDITIONS THERE IS NO ABORTION by PRIMUS ST. JOHN THE MOTHER by GWENDOLYN BROOKS THE LOST BABY POEM by LUCILLE CLIFTON THE INQUEST by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES TIS A LITTLE JOURNEY by ANONYMOUS |
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