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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


BREATH OF THE BRIAR by GEORGE MEREDITH

Poet Analysis

First Line: O BRIAR-SCENTS, ON YON WET WING
Last Line: MY THIRST TO BITE WHERE SHE HAD BIT.
Subject(s): BRIER; LOVE; WIND; BRIAR;

I

O BRIAR-SCENTS, on yon wet wing
Of warm South-west wind brushing by,
You mind me of the sweetest thing
That ever mingled frank and shy:
When she and I, by love enticed,
Beneath the orchard-apples met,
In equal halves a ripe one sliced,
And smelt the juices ere we ate.

II

That apple of the briar-scent,
Among our lost in Britain now,
Was green of rind, and redolent
Of sweetness as a milking cow.
The briar gives it back, well nigh
The damsel with her teeth on it;
Her twinkle between frank and shy
My thirst to bite where she had bit.



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