Classic and Contemporary Poetry
ONE MORE, by JOHN LAWSON STODDARD Poet's Biography First Line: With a smile and a kiss he went away Last Line: The father whom they sacrificed. Subject(s): Death; Kisses; Life; Love; Smiles; Dead, The | ||||||||
With a smile and a kiss he went away; At the gate he turned and waved his hand, Then plunged once more in the sordid fray, Whose strain she could not understand. She really thought that she loved him well, But she loved herself and children more, And realized only when he fell What all his friends had known before. He had always hid his own distress, And answered us with a brave "Not yet," For boys must play and girls must dress, As do their mates in the social set. At least she claimed that this was so, And he too dearly loved them all To spoil their place in the passing show, And so rode on for a fatal fall. He had earned enough for a simple life, If only they a word had said, So weary was he of the strife; But they were dumb, and he . . . is dead! Yes, he is gone, and they are here; And now the purse he died to fill Will keep them well for many a year, -- Of course submissive to "God's will"! One victim more in the cruel race With rivals he himself despised, For children who can ne'er replace The father whom they sacrificed. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A FRIEND KILLED IN THE WAR by ANTHONY HECHT FOR JAMES MERRILL: AN ADIEU by ANTHONY HECHT TARANTULA: OR THE DANCE OF DEATH by ANTHONY HECHT CHAMPS D?ÇÖHONNEUR by ERNEST HEMINGWAY NOTE TO REALITY by TONY HOAGLAND A MAY MONODY by JOHN LAWSON STODDARD |
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