PALER, and yet a thousand times more fair Than in thy girlhood's freshest bloom, art thou: A softer sun-flush tints thy golden hair, A sweeter grace adorns thy gentle brow. Lips that shall call thee "Mother!" at thy breast Feed the young life, wherein thy nature feels Its dear fulfillment: little hands are pressed On the white fountain Love alone unseals. Look down, and let Life's tender daybreak throw A second radiance on thy ripened hour: Retrace thy own forgotten advent so, And in the bud behold thy perfect flower. The father in his child beholds this truth, His perfect manhood has assumed its reign: Thou wear'st anew the roses of thy youth,-- The mother in her child is born again. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE ELF AND THE DORMOUSE by OLIVER BROOK HERFORD ON A SOLDIER FALLEN IN THE PHILIPPINES by WILLIAM VAUGHN MOODY THE DEAD HEROES by ISAAC ROSENBERG A HIGH-TONED OLD CHRISTIAN WOMAN by WALLACE STEVENS THE QUAKER WIDOW by BAYARD TAYLOR UNCLE OUT O' DEBT AN' OUT O' DANGER by WILLIAM BARNES VERSES, SUGGESTED BY THE FUNERAL OF AN EPITAPH IN BURY CHURCH-YARD by BERNARD BARTON |