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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


VILLANELLE by EDMUND WILLIAM GOSSE

First Line: LITTLE MISTRESS MINE, GOOD-BYE!
Last Line: DIG MY GRAVE, FOR I MUST DIE.

LITTLE mistress mine, good-bye!
I have been your sparrow true;
Dig my grave, for I must die.

Waste no tear and heave no sigh;
Life should still be blithe for you,
Little mistress mine, good-bye!

In your garden let me lie,
Underneath the pointed yew
Dig my grave, for I must die.

We have loved the quiet sky
With its tender arch of blue;
Little mistress mine, good-bye!

That I still may feel you nigh,
In your virgin bosom, too,
Dig my grave, for I must die.

Let our garden friends that fly
Be the mourners, fit and few.
Little mistress mine, good-bye!
Dig my grave, for I must die.



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