Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


LET US FORGET by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY

Poet Analysis

First Line: LET US FORGET. WHAT MATTERS IT THAT
Last Line: WITH ALL THIS WASTE OF TEARS, LET US FORGET!

LET us forget. What matters it that we
Once reigned o'er happy realms of long ago,
And talked of love, and let our voices low,
And ruled for some brief sessions royally?
What if we sung, or laughed, or wept maybe?
It has availed not anything, and so
Let it go by that we may better know
How poor a thing is lost to you and me.
But yesterday I kissed your lips, and yet
Did thrill you not enough to shake the dew
From your drenched lids -- and missed, with no regret,
Your kiss shot back, with sharp breaths failing you:
And so, to-day, while our worn eyes are wet
With all this waste of tears, let us forget!



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