Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE UNRETURNING, by MARGARET ELIZABETH MUNSON SANGSTER


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE UNRETURNING, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Earth, knowing not eld, in thy youth all / divine
Last Line: But not from the dark come my darlings to me.
Alternate Author Name(s): Van Deth, Gerrit, Mrs.
Subject(s): Death; Flowers; Grief; Mothers; Dead, The; Sorrow; Sadness


EARTH, knowing not eld, in thy youth all divine,
Though the ages unceasing are evermore thine,
Once more be birth-thrilled, until forth from thy womb
Throng the myriad forms of the world's waking bloom.

For the sweet of the year, great Earth-mother, is here,
And, lo! on the uplands the flowers appear,
And blithe is the wing, and the song it is glad,
And our yearning hearts only are heavy and sad.

Earth, mother undying, thy tender arms keep
So safe in thy bosom the dear things asleep,
So strong is thy pulse-beat to bid them again
Know battle and conquest, and hunger and pain.

The insistence of growth, the fair crown of the leaf,
The fruit in its ripeness, the rich bending sheaf—
Earth, this thou canst do, yet our dearer loves go,
And return not again from their beds hollowed low.

Our hearts are nigh breaking with bliss and with dole;
In the midst of the rapture, how lonely the soul!
Comes the bird to the green bough, the bud to the tree,
But not from the dark come my darlings to me.





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