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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


ON THE DUNES by SARA TEASDALE

Poet Analysis

First Line: IF THERE IS ANY LIFE WHEN DEATH IS OVER
Last Line: STAND ON THE SUN-SWEPT DUNES AND CALL MY NAME.
Subject(s): FUTURE LIFE; RETRIBUTION; ETERNITY; AFTER LIFE;

If there is any life when death is over,
These tawny beaches will know much of me,
I shall come back, as constant and as changeful
As the unchanging, many-colored sea.

If life was small, if it has made me scornful,
Forgive me; I shall straighten like a flame
In the great calm of death, and if you want me
Stand on the sun-swept dunes and call my name.



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