Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


ONCE IN A LONELY HOUR by JOHN HALL WHEELOCK

First Line: UPON MY BREAST
Last Line: UPON A HEART AS TROUBLED AS ITS OWN.
Subject(s): DESIRE; LOVE;

Upon my breast
Once, in a lonely hour, your head was laid,
And you had rest
From much that troubled you -- you were no longer afraid.

But, now even here
No refuge is; you shall not ever lie
As once in my heart's shelter here,
Poor heart, while the great hounds of Time go roaring by.

Vain was the strength
You leaned on in that hour; you did not guess
How vain the strength
Whereon you propped your ignorant lovingness.

And yet -- what more
Has life to offer life, here in the lone
Tumult? A little rest, no more --
Upon a heart as troubled as its own.



Home: PoetryExplorer.net