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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE LAST NIGHT OF ARTAN THE CULDEE by WILLIAM SHARP

First Line: IT IS BUT A LITTLE THING TO SIT HERE IN SILENCE AND THE DARK
Last Line: AND I SHALL HEAR OONA'S VOICE AS A SLEEPING SEAL HEARS THE MOVING WAVE.
Subject(s): DEATH; KISSES; LOVE; MAN-WOMAN RELATIONSHIPS; MEMORY; DEAD, THE; MALE-FEMALE RELATIONS;
It is but a little thing to sit here in the silence and the dark:
For I remember the blazing noon when I saw Oona the White:
I remember the day when we sailed the Moyle in our skin-built barque;
And I remember when Oona's lips were on mine in the heart of the night.

So it is a little thing to sit here, hearing nought, seeing nought:
When the dawn breaks they will hurry me hence to the new-dug grave:
It will be quiet there, if it be true what the good Colum has taught,
And I shall hear Oona's voice as a sleeping seal hears the moving wave.



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