English poem
Sweetly, my mother! Go not yet away
by David Gray (1836–1888)
Sweetly, my mother! Go not yet away— I have not told my story. Oh, not yet, With the fair past before me, can I lay My cheek upon the pillow to forget. O sweet, fair past, my twenty years of youth Thus thrown away, not fashioning a man; But fashioning a memory, forsooth! More feminine than follower of Pan. O God! let me not die for years and more! Fulfil Thyself, and I will live then surely Longer than a mere childhood. Now heart-sore, Weary, with being weary—weary, purely. In dying, mother, I can find no pleasure Except in being near thee without measure.
More by David Gray
- October’s gold is dim--the forests rot
- Oh many a time with Ovid have I borne
- Oh, beautiful moon! Oh, beautiful moon! again
- Sometimes, when sunshine and blue sky prevail
- The daisy-flower is to the summer sweet
- There are three bonnie Scottish melodies
- Thou art wearin’ awa’, Jean
- Tis April, yet the wind retains its tooth