Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE FEAST OF ST. JOHN by AGNES MARY F. ROBINSON

First Line: A MAN GOES TWANGING A MANDOLINE DOWN IN THE VALLEY
Last Line: PALES WITH THE SICK RENEWAL OF A SORROW.)
Subject(s): GRIEF; SORROW; SADNESS;

A MAN goes twanging a mandoline down in the valley,
A girl sings late
By the city gate,
A chorus rings from the wine-shop, there, in the alley,

(O cruel voices, cruel music making,
I cannot sleep and am so sick of waking!)

The lanterns strung in the Piazza burn scarlet and yellow,
They swing and shine
In a fiery line;
The fire-flies flit thro' the fields where the corn is mellow.

(Already in the East, alas, the morrow
Pales with the sick renewal of a sorrow.)



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