Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, IN THE SHADOWS: 2, by DAVID GRAY (1838-1861)



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

IN THE SHADOWS: 2, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Whom the gods love die young.' the thought is old
Last Line: Hymn, o ye mourners! Hail immortal youth auroral!
Variant Title(s): I Die, Being Young
Subject(s): Death; Youth; Dead, The


"Whom the gods love die young." The thought is old;
And yet it soothed the sweet Athenian mind.
I take it with all pleasure, overbold,
Perhaps, yet to its virtue much inclined
By an inherent love for what is fair.
This is the utter poetry of woe --
That the bright-flashing gods should cure despair
By love, and make youth precious here below.
I die, being young; and, dying, could become
A pagan, with the tender Grecian trust.
Let death, the fell anatomy, benumb
The hand that writes, and fill my mouth with dust, --
Chant no funeral theme, but, with a choral
Hymn, O ye mourners! hail immortal youth auroral!





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