I HAVE watch'd thee with rapture, and dwelt on thy charms, As link'd in Love's fetters we wander'd each day; And each night I have sought a new life in thy arms, And sigh'd that our union could last not for aye. But thy life now depends on a frail silken thread, Which I even by kindness may cruelly sever, And I look to the moment of parting with dread, For I feel that in parting I lose thee forever. Sole being that cherish'd my poor troubled heart! Thou know'st all its secrets -- each joy and each grief; And in sharing them all thou did'st ever impart To its sorrows a gentle and soothing relief. The last of a long and affectionate race, As thy days are declining I love thee the more, For I feel that thy loss I can never replace -- That thy death will but leave me to weep and deplore. Unchanged, thou shalt live in the mem'ry of years, I cannot -- I will not -- forget what thou wert! While the thoughts of thy love as they call forth my tears, In fancy will wash thee once more -- MY LAST SHIRT. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CHAMBER MUSIC: 13 by JAMES JOYCE SONNET: 1. THE BRIGHT MOON by CONRAD AIKEN THE RHINOCEROS by HILAIRE BELLOC A MINOR POET by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET THE CITY REVISITED by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET A DIM DOORWAY by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON |