Classic and Contemporary Poetry
ANSWER TO VERSES ADDRESSED TO ME BY PETER CLAY, by EFFIE WALLER SMITH Poet's Biography First Line: Backward down the stream of time Last Line: Of my early girlhood days. Subject(s): Singing & Singers; Time | ||||||||
Backward down the stream of time My wandering mind now floats, When I a hoyden country lass, In homespun petticoats That reached down to my ankles bare, Ankles bare and brown, too; Not browned by summer suns, for birth Had giv'n to them that hue. I think now of those days when hills And vales with music rang, Of which in crude, uneven, Yet rhythmic, words, I sang. And I'm thinking, poet friend, How you have, oftentimes, Admired with pure unselfishness Those simple, homely rhymes. For 'tis the genius of the soul (Though underneath a skin Of dusky hue its fire may burn) Your unfeigned praises win. Oh, that earth had more of beings With generous minds like yours, Who alike, true worth and honor To the black and white secures. 'Accept, dear poet, then, my thanks For your glowing words of praise, For the simple, homely, faulty rhymes Of my early girlhood days. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ELEVEN EYES: FINAL SECTION by LYN HEJINIAN THE FATALIST: COME OCTOBER by LYN HEJINIAN THE FATALIST: HOME by LYN HEJINIAN THE FATALIST: TIME IS FILLED by LYN HEJINIAN SLOWLY: I FREQUENTLY SLOWLY WISH by LYN HEJINIAN ALL THE DIFFICULT HOURS AND MINUTES by JANE HIRSHFIELD A DAY IS VAST by JANE HIRSHFIELD FROM THIS HEIGHT by TONY HOAGLAND A GOOD-BYE by EFFIE WALLER SMITH |
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