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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


TEREUS: WOMANKIND by SOPHOCLES

First Line: AWAY FROM HOME I AM NOTHING. OFTENTIMES
Last Line: WE MUST GIVE PRAISE AND THINK THAT ALL IS WELL.
Subject(s): WOMEN;

AWAY from home I am nothing. Oftentimes
Have I considered what is womankind
And seen that we are nothing. In girlhood's days
Ours is the sweetest of all lives at home, --
For thoughtlessness is a kind nurse to children.
But when we reach maturity and wisdom,
We are driven abroad and made a traffic of,
Far from our parents and our country's gods,
Some to strange men and some to foreigners,
Some to true homes and some to contumely,
And just because a single night has joined us,
We must give praise and think that all is well.



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