Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, HATE, by JAMES STEPHENS


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

HATE, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: My enemy came nigh
Last Line: I might have kissed him, as I would a maid.
Subject(s): Hate


My enemy came nigh;
And I
Stared fiercely in his face:
My lips went writhing back in a grimace,
And stern I watched him from a narrowed eye:

Then, as I turned away,
My enemy,
That bitter-heart, and savage, said to me:

-- Some day, when this is past;
When all the arrows that we have are cast;
We may ask one another why we hate?
And fail to find a story to relate:
It may seem to us, then, a mystery
That we could hate each other --
Thus said he; and did not turn away;
Waiting to hear what I might have to say!

But I fled quickly: fearing, if I stayed,
I might have kissed him, as I would a maid.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net