The Expiration by John Donne

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend September 17, 2017   The Expiration   John Donne

So, so, break off this last lamenting kiss,     Which sucks two souls, and vapours both away; Turn, thou ghost, that way, and let me turn this,     And let ourselves benight our happiest day. We ask none leave to love; nor will we owe     Any so cheap a death as saying, "Go." Go; and if that word have not quite killed thee,     Ease me with death, by bidding me go too. Or, if it have, let my word work on me,     And a just office on a murderer do. Except it be too late, to kill me so,     Being double dead, going, and bidding, "Go."            This poem is in the public domain. About This Poem   This version of "The Expiration" was published in Poems of John Donne, Volume 1 (Scribner's Sons, 1896).   John Donne was born in London in 1572. He is the author of Poems (John Marriot, 1633) and Essayes in Divinity (Richard Marriot, 1651). Donne died in 1631. Poetry by Donne   The Complete English Poems (Penguin Classics, 1977) "When We Two Parted" by George Gordon Byron "When we are on the right track we are rewarded with joy" by Brian Teare "Invitation to Love" by Paul Laurence Dunbar 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 Poem-a-Day is the only digital series publishing new, previously unpublished work by today's poets each weekday morning.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

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