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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


TO A LADY ASKING FOOLISH QUESTIONS by ERNEST CHRISTOPHER DOWSON

Poet Analysis

First Line: WHY AM I SORRY, CHLOE? BECAUSE THE MOON IS FAR
Last Line: I GO WHERE THE WIND BLOWS, CHLOE, AND AM NOT SORRY AT ALL.

Why am I sorry, Chloe? Because the moon is far:
And who am I to be straitened in a little earthly star?

Because thy face is fair? And what if it had not been,
The fairest face of all is the face I have not seen.

Because the land is cold, and however I scheme and plot,
I can not find a ferry to the land where I am not.

Because thy lips are red and thy breasts upbraid the snow?
(There is neither white nor red in the pleasance where I go.)

Because thy lips grow pale and thy berasts grow dun and fall?
I go where the wind blows, Chloe, and am not sorry at all.



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