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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE ISLANDS: 2 by HILDA DOOLITTLE

Poet Analysis

First Line: WHAT CAN LOVE OF LAND GIVE TO ME
Last Line: AND DELOS, THE CLASP OF THE WHITE NECKLACE?
Subject(s): BIBLE; GREECE; ISLANDS; PROPERTY; GREEKS; POSSESSIONS;

What can love of land give to me
that you have not --
what do the tall Spartans know,
and gentler Attic folk?

What has Sparta and her women
more than this?

What are the islands to me
if you are lost --

What is Naxos, Tinos, Andros,
and Delos, the clasp of the white necklace?



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