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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
TWELVE SONNETS: 11. FIRST, BATTLE; THEN, WOMAN, by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) First Line: And yet chief strength gives chiefest tenderness Last Line: Gifts that blot out the blood-freaked dust-streaked day. | |||
And yet chief strength gives chiefest tenderness.— After the battle comes the calm of sleep Upon a woman's breast, and eyes that weep, And the superb and sorrowless caress. Oh, did not Christ, after the bitter stress Of unknown agony in the garden deep, Fruits of unknown unearthly triumph reap,— When, death being over, love leant down to bless? First, battle; after, woman. First the swords That mingle in the sweltering close mêlée, And then the embrace yet closer that rewards Of one who watched from far the fierce fast fray. First, pitiless strife. Then woman who accords Gifts that blot out the blood-freaked dust-streaked day. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest... |
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