"Sonnet V" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend July 2, 2017   Sonnet V   Elizabeth Barrett Browning

I lift my heavy heart up solemnly, As once Electra her sepulchral urn, And, looking in thine eyes, I overturn The ashes at thy feet. Behold and see What a great heap of grief lay hid in me, And how the red wild sparkles dimly burn Through the ashen greyness. If thy foot in scorn Could tread them out to darkness utterly, It might be well perhaps. But if instead Thou wait beside me for the wind to blow The grey dust up….—those laurels on thine head O my belovèd, will not shield thee so. That none of all the fires shall scorch and shred The hair beneath. Stand further off then! go.                This poem is in the public domain. About This Poem   "Sonnet V" was published in the collection Poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Volume II (James Miller, 1862).   Elizabeth Barrett Browning was born in 1806 at Coxhoe Hall, Durham, England. She published numerous books, including Poems (Edward Moxon, 1844), Casa Guidi Windows: A Poem (Chapman & Hall, 1851) and Poems before Congress (Chapman & Hall, 1860). Browning died in Florence, Italy, in 1861. Poetry by Browning   Aurora Leigh and Other Poems (Penguin Classics, 1996) "At Last" by Christina Rossetti "Wanting is — What?" by Robert Browning "The Nightingale" by Sir Philip Sidney Help Support Poem-a-Day   If you value Poem-a-Day, please consider a monthly donation or one-time gift to help make it possible. Poem-a-Day is the only digital series publishing new, previously unpublished work by today's poets each weekday morning. The free series, which also features a curated selection of classic poems on weekends, reaches 450,000+ readers daily. Thank you! Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038