Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THEY DID NOT SEE THY FACE, by DORA SIGERSON SHORTER Poet's Biography First Line: Some on the pleasant hillside have thought they saw thee pass Last Line: Till others seek again, kathleen, to see thy hidden face. Alternate Author Name(s): Sigerson, Dora; Shorter, Mrs. Clement Subject(s): Faces; Love | ||||||||
SOME on the pleasant hillside have thought they saw thee pass, As flings a cloud before the sun a shadow on the grass. They praised thy fairness and held dear thy meekness and thy grace; They only saw thy shade, Kathleen, they did not see thy face. Some on the purple mountains stood to see thee speeding by, As glides a sudden golden shaft across a stormy sky; And these were braggarts of their love within thy dwelling-place; They saw thy beauty, Rosin Dubh, they did not see thy face. But some in flames of battle strove their slender weight to throw Against the bayonet and the gun that hid thy only foe; They left for thee their earthly loves, these heroes of thy race, And died, as all must die, Kathleen, who once have seen thy face. So must thy grief be ever new who holds a love like this, That thrusts away a dear one's heart, a little child's soft kiss, That leaves behind an honoured home, a Mother's fond embrace, Till others seek again, Kathleen, to see thy hidden face. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE INVENTION OF LOVE by MATTHEA HARVEY TWO VIEWS OF BUSON by ROBERT HASS A LOVE FOR FOUR VOICES: HOMAGE TO FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN by ANTHONY HECHT AN OFFERING FOR PATRICIA by ANTHONY HECHT LATE AFTERNOON: THE ONSLAUGHT OF LOVE by ANTHONY HECHT A SWEETENING ALL AROUND ME AS IT FALLS by JANE HIRSHFIELD THE WIND ON THE HILLS by DORA SIGERSON SHORTER |
|