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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


EARLY SPRING by JOHN JAY CHAPMAN

Poet Analysis

First Line: WHAT A ROYAL POMP OUR MEADOWS HAVE ASSUMED
Last Line: SAVE IN THE CAVERN OF LIFE'S AFTERGLOW.
Subject(s): SPRING;

What a royal pomp our meadows have assumed
Since Spring, the beggar maid, passed with bare feet,
And in her hand a chill white crocus bloomed
That made the tears to start -- it was so sweet.
Alas, that she has gone! There follows now
More splendor and less pathos: I could give
Half summer's wealth that cumbers every bough,
And all of autumn's promise, to revive,
But for a moment, the unbroken trance
Of those dark, sacred, inexperienced eyes
That flashed and vanished.
For Spring's earliest glance
Awakes innumerable memories,
And many a thought that men can never know
Save in the cavern of Life's afterglow.



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