The Last Memory
Arthur Symons 1865 (Milford Haven) – 1945
When I am old, and think of the old days,
And warm my hands before a little blaze,
Having forgotten love, hope, fear, desire,
I shall see, smiling out of the pale fire,
One face, mysterious and exquisite;
And I shall gaze, and ponder over it,
Wondering, was it Leonardo wrought
That stealthy ardency, where passionate thought
Burns inward, a revealing flame, and glows
To the last ecstasy, which is repose?
Was it Bronzino, whose Borghese eyes?
And, musing thus among my memories,
O unforgotten! you will come to seem,
As pictures do, remembered, some old dream.
And I shall think of you as something strange,
And beautiful, and full of helpless change,
Which I beheld and carried in my heart;
But you, I loved, will have become a part
Of the eternal mystery, and love
Like a dim pain; and I shall bend above
My little fire, and shiver, being cold,
When you are no more young, and I am old.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 49 sec read
- 100 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABBCDEEFFGHIIJJKKLLMM |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 877 |
Words | 164 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 22 |
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"The Last Memory" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/4016/the-last-memory>.
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