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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


RECUERDO by EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY

Poem Explanation Poet Analysis

First Line: WE WERE VERY TIRED, WE WERE VERY MERRY
Last Line: AND WE GAVE HER ALL OUR MONEY BUT OUR SUBWAY FARES.
Subject(s): CHARITY; FERRY BOATS; LOVE; SELVA, SALOMON DE LA (1893-1959); PHILANTHROPY;

We were very tired, we were very merry --
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.
It was bare and bright, and smelled like a stable --
But we looked into a fire, we leaned across a table,
We lay on a hill-top underneath the moon;
And the whistles kept blowing, and the dawn came soon.

We were very tired, we were very merry --
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry;
And you ate an apple, and I ate a pear,
From a dozen of each we had brought somewhere;
And the sky went wan, and the wind came cold,
And the sun rose dripping, a bucketful of gold.

We were very tired, we were very merry,
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.
We hailed, "Good morrow, Mother!" to a shawl-covered head,
And bought a morning paper, which neither of us read;
And she wept, "God bless you!" for the apples and pears,
And we gave her all our money but our subway fares.



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