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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THREE SISTERS by WILLIAM ALLINGHAM

First Line: THREE SISTERS, CHARLOTTE, EMILY AND ANNE
Last Line: YET WILL SEE THOSE GRAVESTONES IF I CAN
Subject(s): BRONTE, ANNE (1820-1849); BRONTE, CHARLOTTE (1816-1855); BRONTE, EMILY (1818-1848);

THREE sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne,
Afar in Yorkshire wolds they live together;
Names that I keep like any sacristan;
The human registry of souls as pure
As sky in hermit waters on a moor,
Those liquid islands of dark seas of heather;
Voices that reach my solitude from theirs;
Hands that I kiss a thousand miles away,
And send a thousand greetings of my own-
But these, alas! only the west wind bears.
Nay, they have vanish'd. Hills and vales are lone
Where Earth once knew them. What is now to say ?
Three strangers dead - 'tis little to endure:
Great crowds of strangers vanish every day.
Yet will I see those gravestones if I may.




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