Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, MEMORY, by ANONYMOUS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

MEMORY, by                    
First Line: O dreadful memory! Why dost thou tread
Last Line: "canst thou restore thy treasures, memory?"
Subject(s): Memory


I.
O DREADFUL Memory! why dost thou tread
From out the secret chambers of my life?
Thou livest with the dead -- go to thy dead!
Nor break my peaceful carelessness with strife.

Thy chains are heavy; thou hast bound me fast.
I bend beneath the weight I have to bear;
Leave me the Present, thou hast all the Past!
Unbind me -- go! I keep the smallest share.

Art thou not weary of thy ceaseless chase?
Day after day hast thou not followed me?
Thou wert relentless to pursue the race,
Until thy chains had bound me hopelessly.

I am thy captive; I am weak, thou strong!
Be merciful; cease to torment me more.
Spare me some pangs of torture, grief, and wrong;
Unloose my chains, thy wounds are deep and sore!

II.
O faint, delicious Memory, I call:
Come very near; there is no friend like thee!
See, I have nothing left, and thou hast all!
For one short hour give it back to me.

Give me my charming summer skies again,
The fragrance of my spring and autumn breeze,
The moon that I have watched the rise and wane,
The birds I love to hear among the trees.

Sweet eyes, lost in the distance, draw more near;
Dear hands, clasp mine -- clasp closer yet, I pray;
Beloved voices, speak that I may hear;
Most precious Memory, go not away!

Without thee I am lonely; it is strange,
Nothing is left that I can call my own.
The world is new, passing from change to change;
My nest is empty, all my birds have flown.

Depart not yet, thy tones are very sweet,
Echoes of faith and hope and victory!
And is it true, ye lost, that we shall meet?
Canst thou restore thy treasures, Memory?





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