Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


ABSENCE by DOROTHY PARKER

Poet Analysis

First Line: I NEVER THOUGHT THAT HEAVEN WOULD LOSE ITS BLUE
Last Line: I NEVER THOUGHT THEY WOULD, AND I WAS RIGHT.
Subject(s): ABSENCE; SEPARATION; ISOLATION;

I never thought that heaven would lose its blue
And sullen storm-clouds mask the gentle sky;
I never thought the rose's velvet hue
Would pale and sicken, though we said good-by.
I never dreamed the lark would hush its note
As day succeeded ever-drearier day,
Nor knew the song the swelled the robin's throat
Would fade to silence, when you went away.

I never knew the sun's irradiant beams
Upon the brooding earth no more would shine,
Nor thought that only in my mocking dreams
Would happiness that once I knew be mine.
I never thought the slim moon, mournfully,
Would shroud her pallid self in murky night.
Dear heart, I never thought these things would be --
I never thought they would, and I was right.



Home: PoetryExplorer.net