Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE NETTLES by THOMAS HARDY

Poet Analysis

First Line: THIS, THEN, IS THE GRAVE OF MY SON
Last Line: WHO SPURNED ME FOR SEEING WHAT HE COULD NOT SEE.
Subject(s): GRAVES; TOMBS; TOMBSTONES;

THIS, then, is the grave of my son,
Whose heart she won! And nettles grow
Upon his mound; and she lives just below.

How he upbraided me, and left,
And our lives were cleft, because I said
She was hard, unfeeling, caring but to wed.

Well, to see this sight I have fared these miles,
And her firelight smiles from her window there,
Whom he left his mother to cherish with tender care!

It is enough. I'll turn and go;
Yes, nettles grow where lone lies he,
Who spurned me for seeing what he could not see.



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