Classic and Contemporary Poetry
TO MY HUSBAND'S FIRST GRAY HAIR, by ANNA PEYRE DINNIES First Line: Thou strange, unbidden guest! From whence Last Line: Such is thine errand, first gray hair. Alternate Author Name(s): Shackleford, Anna Peyre Subject(s): Aging; Marriage; Weddings; Husbands; Wives | ||||||||
THOU strange, unbidden guest! from whence Thus early hast thou come? And wherefore? Rude intruder, hence. And seek some fitter home! These rich young locks are all too dear -- Indeed thou must not linger here! Go! take thy sober aspect where The youthful cheek is fading, Or find some furrow'd brow, which Care And Passion have been shading; And add thy sad malignant trace, To mar the aged or anguish'd face! Thou wilt not go? Then answer me, And tell what brought thee here? Not one of all thy tribe I see Beside thyself appear, And, through these bright and clustering curls Thou shinest, a tiny thread of pearls. Thou art a moralist? ah, well! And comest from Wisdom's land, A few sage axioms just to tell? Well! well! I understand -- Old Truth hath sent thee here to bear The maxims which we fain must hear. And now, as I observe thee nearer, Thou'rt pretty -- very pretty -- quite As glossy and as fair -- nay fairer Than these, but not so bright; And since thou came Truth's messenger, Thou shalt remain and speak of her. She says thou art a herald sent In kind and friendly warning, To mix with locks by beauty blent, (The fair young brow adorning,) And 'midst their wild luxuriance taught To show thyself, and waken thought. That thought, which to the dreamer preaches A lesson stern as true, That all things pass away, and teaches How youth must vanish too! And thou wert sent to rouse anew This thought, whene'er thou meet'st the view. And comes there not a whispering sound, A low, faint, murmuring breath, Which, as thou movest, floats around Like echoes in their death? "Time onward sweeps, youth flies, prepare" -- Such is thine errand, First Gray Hair. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A BLESSING FOR A WEDDING by JANE HIRSHFIELD A SUITE FOR MARRIAGE by DAVID IGNATOW ADVICE TO HER SON ON MARRIAGE by MARY BARBER THE RABBI'S SON-IN-LAW by SABINE BARING-GOULD KISSING AGAIN by DORIANNE LAUX A TIME PAST by DENISE LEVERTOV HAPPINESS by ANNA PEYRE DINNIES LINES (AFTER SEEING MACREADY IN VIRGNIA) by ANNA PEYRE DINNIES |
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