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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


A PICTURE by DORA GREENWELL

Poem Explanation

First Line: IT WAS IN AUTUMN THAT I MET / HER WHOM I LOVE
Last Line: I SAW THEE, OH MY LOVE! AND THOU WERT FAIR.

It was in autumn that I met
Her whom I love; the sunflowers bold
Stood up like guards around her set,
And all the air with mignonette
Was warm within the garden old;
Beside her feet the marigold
Glowed star-like, and the sweet-pea sent
A sigh to follow as she went
Slowly adown the terrace; - there
I saw thee, oh my love! and thou wert fair.

She stood in the full noonday, unafraid,
As one beloved of sunlight, for awhile
She leant upon the timeworn balustrade;
The white clematis wooed her, and the clove
Hung all its burning heart upon her smile;
And on her cheek and in her eyes was love;
And on her lips that, like an opening rose,
Seemed parting some sweet secret to disclose,
The soul of all the summer lingered; - there
I saw thee, oh my love! and thou wert fair.



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