I’ve stumbled upon this fantastic poem that I must share. Another poet I never heard of until the past few days. Enjoy!
If I Should Die Tonight
If I should die to-night,
My friends would look upon my quiet face
Before they laid it in its resting-place,
And deem that death had left it almost fair;
And, laying snow-white flowers against my hair,
Would smooth it down with tearful tenderness,
And fold my hands with lingering caress, –
Poor hands, so empty and so cold to-night!
If I should die to-night,
My friends would call to mind with loving thought
Some kindly deed the icy hands had wrought,
Some gentle word the frozen lips had said,
Errands on which the willing feet had sped;
The memory of my selfishness and pride,
My hasty words would all be put aside,
And so I should be loved and mourned to-night.
If I should die to-night,
Even hearts estranged would turn once more to me,
Recalling other days remorsefully;
The eyes that chill me with averted glance
Would look upon me as of yore, perchance,
And soften in the old familiar way,
For who could war with dumb, unconscious clay?
So I might rest, forgiven of all to-night.
Oh, friends! I pray to-night,
Keep not your kisses for my dead, cold brow:
The way is lonely, let me feel them now.
Think gently of me; I am travelworn;
My faltering feet are pierced with many a thorn.
Forgive, oh, hearts estranged, forgive, I plead!
When dreamless rest is mine I shall not need
The tenderness for which I long to-night.
~ Arabella Eugenia Smith
Take a ride on Rhian’s Monday Poetry Train! Everyone is welcome to hop aboard. Make sure you put your blog link below so we can all pop by. There are NO rules. Post poetry or prose or cartoons or something from your WIP. The point is to share the Creative. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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Tags: Monday Poetry Train, Poetry
Wow. I’ve loved all the poets you’ve shared on the train, Missy. This piece particularly resonates since I just lost a very dear friend, and when I went to her house for a final goodbye visit, her home was filled with everyone who would go to her funeral – but she was still there to enjoy the love.
I like these lines a lot:
‘The memory of my selfishness and pride,
My hasty words would all be put aside,
And so I should be loved and mourned to-night.’
julias last blog post..My Very First Contest! – This is a sticky post – Scroll down for the regular schedule
This is wonderful. I never heard of her. Now I must check her out!
Thanks!
deeply in love with dracula’s daughter
gautami tripathys last blog post..deeply in love with dracula’s daughter
Julia, I found this one to be so gentle and yet powerful at the same time. I loved it!
Guatami, I’m on a quest to find more of her work as well.
I’m so glad you both enjoyed the poem.
Missys last blog post..Let My Words Work For You
I’ve never heard of this poet either. Now I have thanks to you. There is a poignancy that is not cloying in this. It has the power to suggest to the reader that there is another way of looking at whatever seems important; that now is the time, the only time we have, for reaching out to one another.
btw i tried to leave a comment last week after i left my link in mr linky and the comment wouldn’t take. got an error message saying something about maintenance. i meant to come back later and forgot.
also, i don’t know if this is a problem for anyone else but your blog title and menu bar is overlapping with the title of the top post. It appears to be the size of the font at issue. i’m using firefox..
Hi Joy, I upgraded WordPress last Monday and what should have taken 10 minutes took several hours. *sigh* No worries about the comment.
I use Safari most of the time but I checked my blog with Firefox and you weren’t joking about the title and menu bar. Sheesh! I really like this them, but I’ve had some problems that I can’t seem to correct. I guess I’ll give in and find a new one. Thanks for the heads up.
hi Missy
I use wordpress too, and my sidebar has disappreared or been messed up. I’ve had better luck with the new firefox. when I upload “stuff” from another site, i’ve learned to make sure to clean up messy code. one time i just deleted the post that had images from another site and it all worked out ok.
good luck!
art predators last blog post..ballad of my belly