Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


PAST AND PRESENT by THOMAS HOOD

Poet Analysis

First Line: I REMEMBER, I REMEMBER, / THE HOUSE WHERE I WAS BORN
Last Line: THAN WHEN I WAS A BOY.
Subject(s): AGING; CHILDREN; MEMORY; RELIGION; TIME; CHILDHOOD; THEOLOGY;

I REMEMBER, I remember
The house where I was born,
The little window where the sun
Came peeping in at morn.
He never came a wink too soon,
Nor brought too long a day;
But now I often wish the night
Had borne my breath away!
I remember, I remember
The roses, red and white,
The violets, and the lily-cups, --
Those flowers made of light!
The lilacs where the robin built,
And where my brother set
The laburnum on his birthday, --
The tree is living yet!
I remember, I remember
Where I was used to swing,
And thought the air must rush as fresh
To swallows on the wing;
My spirit flew in feathers then,
That is so heavy now,
And summer pools could hardly cool
The fever on my brow!
I remember, I remember
The fir-trees dark and high;
I used to think their slender tops
Were close against the sky.
It was a childish ignorance,
But now 'tis little joy
To know I'm farther off from heaven
Than when I was a boy.



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