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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
ONCE WITH DEATH NEAR, by REBA MAXWELL AVERY
First Line: Once, with death near, I thought: what will it mean
Last Line: Will live beyond the sleep that men call death.
Subject(s): Death; Love; Sonnet (as Literary Form); Dead, The
First Line: Once, with death near, I thought: what will it mean
Last Line: Will live beyond the sleep that men call death.
Subject(s): Death; Love; Sonnet (as Literary Form); Dead, The
Once, with death near, I thought: What will it mean,
This lying still, with no small task to hew --
The moonlight gone, the pines, the lace-trimmed blue
Midsummer skies when rains have washed them clean?
I thought of how we strolled through meadows green
With April, gathering lilies drenched in dew;
I thought of many things, but most of you,
Love on our lips, and no dark fear between,
A petal fallen from its flower will leave
The flower scarred, its beauty incomplete,
Yet with no loss of hue or perfumed breath.
You I am petal of can never grieve,
Knowing our love that made the hours sweet
Will live beyond the sleep that men call death.
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ALL THIS by REBA MAXWELL AVERY