The Girl I Left Behind Me
Henry Kendall 1839 (Australia) – 1882 (Sydney)
With sweet Regret — (the dearest thing that Yesterday has left us) —
We often turn our homeless eyes to scenes whence Fate has reft us.
Here sitting by a fading flame, wild waifs of song remind me
Of Annie with her gentle ways, the Girl I left behind me.
I stood beside the surging sea, with lips of silent passion —
I faced you by the surging sea, O brows of mild repression!
I never said — “my darling, stay!” — the moments seemed to bind me
To something stifling all my words for the Girl I left behind me.
The pathos worn by common things — by every wayside flower,
Or Autumn leaf on lonely winds, revives the parting hour.
Ye swooning thoughts without a voice — ye tears which rose to blind me,
Why did she fade into the Dark, the Girl I left behind me.
At night they always come to me, the tender and true-hearted;
And in my dreams we join again the hands which now are parted;
And, looking through the gates of Sleep, the pleasant Moon doth find me
For ever wandering with my Love, the Girl I left behind me.
You know my life is incomplete, O far-off faint Ideal!
When shall I reach you from a depth of darkness which is real?
So I may mingle, soul in soul, with her that Heaven assigned me;
So she may lean upon my love, the Girl I left behind me.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:15 min read
- 130 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABB CCBB DDBB EEBB FFBB |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic octameter |
Characters | 1,262 |
Words | 250 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"The Girl I Left Behind Me" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/17581/the-girl-i-left-behind-me>.
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