WHITHER shall I, the fair maiden, flee from Sorrow? If I fly from Sorrow into the dark forest, After me runs Sorrow with an axe. "I will fell, I will fell the green oaks; I will seek, I will find the fair maiden." If I fly from Sorrow into the open field, After me runs Sorrow with a scythe. "I will mow, I will mow the open field; I will seek, I will find the fair maiden." Whither then shall I flee from Sorrow? If I rush from Sorrow into the blue sea, -- After me comes Sorrow as a huge fish. "I will drink, I will swallow the blue sea: I will seek, I will find the fair maiden." If I seek refuge from Sorrow in marriage, -- Sorrow follows me as my dowry. If I take to my bed to escape from Sorrow, -- Sorrow sits beside my pillow. And when I shall have fled from Sorrow into the damp earth, -- Sorrow will come after me with a spade. Then will Sorrow stand over me, and cry triumphantly, "I have driven, I have driven, the maiden into the damp earth." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...COUNSEIL TO A BACHELER by MARIANNE MOORE THE STATE OF WYOMING by KAREN SWENSON BALLADE MADE FOR HIS MOTHER THAT SHE MIGHTE PRAYE by FRANCOIS VILLON PALABRAS CARINOSAS (SPANISH AIR) by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH |