"Farewell" by Alice Dunbar-Nelson

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend Support Poem-a-Day January 11, 2020   Farewell   Alice Dunbar-Nelson

Farewell, sweetheart, and again farewell; To day we part, and who can tell      If we shall e'er again Meet, and with clasped hands Renew our vows of love, and forget      The sad, dull pain.   Dear heart, 'tis bitter thus to lose thee And think mayhap, you will forget me;      And yet, I thrill As I remember long and happy days Fraught with sweet love and pleasant memories      That linger still   You go to loved ones who will smile And clasp you in their arms, and all the while      I stay and moan For you, my love, my heart and strive To gather up life's dull, gray thread      And walk alone.   Aye, with you love the red and gold Goes from my life, and leaves it cold      And dull and bare, Why should I strive to live and learn And smile and jest, and daily try      You from my heart to tare?   Nay, sweetheart, rather would I lie Me down, and sleep for aye; or fly       To regions far Where cruel Fate is not and lovers live Nor feel the grim, cold hand of Destiny       Their way to bar.   I murmur not, dear love, I only say Again farewell. God bless the day       On which we met, And bless you too, my love, and be with you In sorrow or in happiness, nor let you       E'er me forget.              This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on January 11, 2020, by the Academy of American Poets. About this Poem   "Farewell" originally appeared in Violets and Other Tales (The Monthly Review, 1895).   Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson was born on July 19, 1875 in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was an activist for civil rights and women's suffrage, as well as a poet, journalist, short-story writer, and playwright. She died on September 18, 1935 in Philadelphia. Poetry by Nelson   Violets and Other Tales  (Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015) "241. ['Farewell' is on my tongue]" by Paulus Silentarius "Farewell! Thou art too dear for my possession (Sonnet 87)" by William Shakespeare "A Farewell to America" by Phillis Wheatley January Guest Editor: Meg Day   Thanks to Meg Day, author of Last Psalm at Sea Level (Barrow Street, 2014), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month's weekdays. Read a Q&A about Day's curatorial approach and find out more about our guest editors for the year. A culture break, a source of daily renewal...   If reading Poem-a-Day has become a meaningful part of your day, please consider supporting this free series with a donation. Your gift makes publishing Poem-a-Day possible. 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   Unsubscribe here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038