Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


EVIL by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES

Poet Analysis

First Line: HOW OFTEN IN MY DREAMS HAVE I BEHELD
Last Line: HAVE TRIED THEIR BEST TO MAKE A CUNNING DEVIL!
Subject(s): EVIL; NATURE;

How often in my dreams have I beheld
An enemy with a grinning, loathsome face;
And then, before the dream is over, lo!
A smiling friend has taken that enemy's place.

So, when unkindness comes my way, I think
Of an enemy first; but in the end
It follows, two to one, the secret blow
Is struck by one who calls himself my friend!

Call me a Nature poet, nothing more,
Who writes of simple things, not human evil;
And hear my grief when I confess that friends
Have tried their best to make a cunning devil!



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