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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


NEW AND OLD (TO A YOUNG LADY) by HENRY AUSTIN DOBSON

Poet Analysis

First Line: FOR WHAT IS OLD YOU NOTHING CARE
Last Line: THE OTHER ONLY STAYS A MINUTE!
Subject(s): OLD AGE; YOUTH;

FOR what is old you nothing care --
'Antiques,' you say, but leave you cold;
And yet the sun that gilds your hair
Is more than many aeons old.

The very song I hear you sing
Is little but a variation
Of some foregone primaeval thing --
Some early mortal inspiration!

Ah, never say you hate the old,
It always hides the new within it;
'Twill last until the stars are cold,
The other only stays a minute!



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