Did not I remember that my hair is grey
With only a fringe of it left,
I’d follow your footsteps from wee break of day
Till night was of moon-light bereft.
Your eyes wondrous fountains of joy and of youth
Remind me of days long since flown,
My sweetheart, I led to the altar of truth,
But then the gay spring was my own.
Now winter has come with its snow and its wind
And made me as bare as its trees,
Oh, yes, I still love, but it’s only in mind,
For I’m fast growing weak at the knees.
Your voice is as sweet as the song of a bird,
Your manners are those of the fawn,
I dream of you, darling,—oh, pardon, that word,
From twilight to breaking of dawn.
Your name in this missive you’ll search for in vain,
Nor mine at the finis, I’ll fling,
For winter must suffer the bliss and the pain
In secret for loving the spring.
Here in Vermont, we are not quite out of winter yet. We are expecting 3-6 inches of snow tomorrow and possibly more snow on Thursday. Spring is coming though.
The Poet
Irvin W. Underhill was born in Port Clinton, Pennsylvania, on May 1, 1868. He is the author of Daddy’s Love and Other Poems (A.M.E. Book Concern, 1916).
It's mostly about your altitude in the mountains.
ReplyDeleteI have good friends living in Magog in the Eastern Townships and they have more snow than we have in Montréal because of that altitude and the mountains. The wind is cooler up there and the way the weather systems travel make it more «winter» like even in the begining of Spring time.
What hair I have left is mostly gray, and at the age of 78 I can confirm what the poet says. Our feelings and attractions remain even as our strength declines.
ReplyDeleteNaturgesetz, I am the same way at 43. What hair I have left is also mostly gray, but our feelings and attractions do remain the same. This is one of the reasons why i chose this poem for today.
ReplyDeleteJoe, I wondered if you'd come across this blog called Means Happy. If not, I think you'd enjoy some of the literary and historical content.
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