The lad I love shall be as straight As that poplar, and his eyes Shall be as clear as the quiet brook Ever, at dawning, lies. He shall be brown as an oak in Fall, Clean as a young white pine; But I'll not look for him here, not I ... Towns breed not lads like mine. Thus spoke my youth ... and youth is gone, With never the lad so straight, For fields and hills and their clear-eyed men Were far from my city gate. At twilight a neighbor called to me, "That old man died today. You hadn't known him? Why, yes, you had. Don't you remember the tall, brown lad Who always walked this way?" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: MINERVA JONES by EDGAR LEE MASTERS CONTRA MORTEM: THE MOUNTAIN FASTNESS by HAYDEN CARRUTH A DISCRETE LOVE POEM by JAMES GALVIN HOMING BRAVES by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON MEMORY by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON MA LADY'S LIPS AM LIKE DE HONEY (NEGRO LOVE SONG) by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON CLASS SONG (WHICH WILL BE SUNG ON THE 22ND OF FEBRUARY) by GEORGE SANTAYANA |