Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE FIG-TREES OF GHERARDESCA, by WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR


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THE FIG-TREES OF GHERARDESCA, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Ye brave old fig-trees! Worthy pair
Last Line: The girlish glee! Old friends, farewell!
Subject(s): Farewell; Fig Trees; Parting


Ye brave old fig-trees! worthy pair!
Beneath whose shade I often lay
To breathe awhile a cooler air,
And shield me from the darts of day.

Strangers have visited the spot,
Led thither by my parting song;
Alas! the strangers found you not,
And curst the poet's lying tongue.

Vanisht each venerable head,
Nor bough nor leaf could tell them where
To look for you, alive or dead;
Unheeded was my distant prayer.

I might have hoped (if hope had ever
Been mine) that storm or time alone
Your firm alliance would dissever . .
Hath mortal hand your strength o'erthrown?

Before an axe had bitten thro'
The bleeding bark, some tender thought,
If not for me, at least for you,
On younger bosoms might have wrought.

Age after age your honeyed fruit
From boys unseen thro' foliage fell
On lifted apron; now is mute
The girlish glee! Old friends, farewell!





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