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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


SONNET: 2, 9 by FREDERICK GODDARD TUCKERMAN

First Line: BUT UNTO HIM CAME SWIFT CALAMITY
Last Line: FOUND US AT TEARS AND WEPT FOR COMPANY.

But unto him came swift calamity
In the sweet springtime when his beds were green;
And my heart waited, trustfully serene,
For the new blossom on my household tree.
But flowers and gods and quaint philosophy
Are poor, in truth, to fill the empty place;
Nor any joy nor season's jollity
Can aught indeed avail to grace our grief.
Can spring return to him a brother's face,
Or bring my darling back to me--to me?
Undimmed the May went on with bird and bower;
The summer filled and faded like a flower;
But rainy autumn and the red-turned leaf
Found us at tears and wept for company.



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