Classic and Contemporary Poetry
MOTHER'S GRIEF, by HILDEGARD OTT RUSSELL First Line: Dry-eyed she sat up waiting through the night Last Line: A poignant pain is dumb and gnaws the bone. Subject(s): Boys; Grief; Loss; Tragedy; Sorrow; Sadness | ||||||||
Dry-eyed she sat up waiting through the night For any word that might relieve suspense . . . While frothing billows beat a heathen rite Against the old sea wall, her nerves grew tense. Beneath the rankled foam, there sounds a knell That barely dies as dawn is breaking through. How could she know that Neptune tolls a bell When mortals pass before him in review? The empty boat was more than she could bear, And hardened men broke at her muted grief, As marble-white she sank in anguished prayer. . . . "Give back my boy!" They trembled like a leaf. When tears are stemmed, the heart is chiseled stone. . . . A poignant pain is dumb and gnaws the bone. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SONOMA FIRE by JANE HIRSHFIELD AS THE SPARKS FLY UPWARDS by JOHN HOLLANDER WHAT GREAT GRIEF HAS MADE THE EMPRESS MUTE by JUNE JORDAN CHAMBER MUSIC: 19 by JAMES JOYCE DIRGE AT THE END OF THE WOODS by LEONIE ADAMS KESSEL SEE by HILDEGARD OTT RUSSELL |
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