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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THALIA, by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH Poem Explanation Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: I say it under the rose Last Line: Down-town, look in to-morrow! Subject(s): Poetry & Poets; Death; Dead, The | |||
A MIDDLE-AGED LYRICAL POET IS SUPPOSED TO BE TAKING LEAVE OF THE MUSE OF COMEDY I SAY it under the rose -- Oh, thanks! -- yes, under the laurel, We part lovers, not foes; We are not going to quarrel. We have too long been friends On foot and in gilded coaches, Now that the whole thing ends, To spoil our kiss with reproaches. I leave you; my soul is wrung; I pause, look back from the portal -- Ah, I no more am young, And you, child, you are immortal! Mine is the glacier's way, Yours is the blossom's weather -- When were December and May Known to be happy together? Before my kisses grow tame, Before my moodiness grieve you, While yet my heart is flame, And I all lover, I leave you. So, in the coming time, When you count the rich years over, Think of me in my prime, And not as a white-haired lover, Fretful, pierced with regret, The wraith of a dead Desire, Thrumming a cracked spinet By a slowly dying fire. When, at last, I am cold -- Years hence, if the gods so will it -- Say, "He was true as gold," And wear a rose in your fillet! Others, tender as I, Will come and sue for caresses, Woo you, win you, and die -- Mind you, a rose in your tresses! Some Melpomene woo, Some hold Clio the nearest; You, sweet Comedy, -- you Were ever sweetest and dearest! Nay, it is time to go. When writing your tragic sister Say to that child of woe How sorry I was I missed her. Really, I cannot stay, Though "parting is such sweet sorrow"... Perhaps I will, on my way Down-town, look in to-morrow! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A FRIEND KILLED IN THE WAR by ANTHONY HECHT FOR JAMES MERRILL: AN ADIEU by ANTHONY HECHT TARANTULA: OR THE DANCE OF DEATH by ANTHONY HECHT CHAMPS D?ÇÖHONNEUR by ERNEST HEMINGWAY NOTE TO REALITY by TONY HOAGLAND AFTER THE RAIN by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH AN ALPINE PICTURE by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH AN ODE ON THE UNVEILING OF THE SHAW MEMORIA BOSTON COMMON, MAY 31, 1897 by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH |
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