PoemHunter.com   
Afterwards by Thomas Hardy   
Participate in our survey Search:
Search Poems, Poets, Quotations and Lyrics   
Home Poets Poems Lyrics Quotations Music Forum Member Area Poetry E-Books
 
Thomas Hardy
#30
on top 500 Poets
Thomas Hardy
(2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928 / Dorchester / England)
249 poems of Thomas Hardy
click to download
Poet's Page  Biography  Poems  Quotations  Comments   Stats  
 
<< prev. poem Poems by Thomas Hardy : 34 / 328 next poem >>
  
  Afterwards

User Rating:

5.8 /10
(39 votes)



  When the Present has latched its postern behind my tremulous stay,
And the May month flaps its glad green leaves like wings,
Delicate-filmed as new-spun silk, will the neighbours say,
'He was a man who used to notice such things'?

If it be in the dusk when, like an eyelid's soundless blink,
The dewfall-hawk comes crossing the shades to alight
Upon the wind-warped upland thorn, a gazer may think,
'To him this must have been a familiar sight.'

If I pass during some nocturnal blackness, mothy and warm,
When the hedgehog travels furtively over the lawn,
One may say, 'He strove that such innocent creatures should come to no harm,
But he could do little for them; and now he is gone.'

If, when hearing that I have been stilled at last, they stand at the door,
Watching the full-starred heavens that winter sees
Will this thought rise on those who will meet my face no more,
'He was one who had an eye for such mysteries'?

And will any say when my bell of quittance is heard in the gloom
And a crossing breeze cuts a pause in its outrollings,
Till they rise again, as they were a new bell's boom,
'He hears it not now, but used to notice such things'?


Thomas Hardy

Submitted Date Friday, January 03, 2003



Read poems about / on: winter, green, wind, travel, rose, star

<< prev. poem Poems by Thomas Hardy : 34 / 328 next poem >>
 
  Comments about this poem (Afterwards by Thomas Hardy )
Glenn Baker (3/9/2011 11:42:00 AM)
0 person liked.
0 person did not like.
A tremendous poem reflecting on the brevity of human exsistence.
Impending death humbles us all and we hope to be remembered.
Gillian.E. Shaw (3/14/2005 8:07:00 AM)
0 person liked.
0 person did not like.
The poem is written like an epitaph where the poet reflects on the general view of himself after he is dead.
The first stanza begins where the poet has died and the coming of spring. He questions if his neighbours will remember his appreciation for the season;
his love of nature; trying to help innocent creatures and adds the sceptical explanation that when he is dead he will no longer be able to help them.
Reflecting in the fourth stanza that he will be unable to see the winter night sky he makes it clear that he hopes to be remembered for his appreciation of it and its mysteries.
Finally he reflects on the sound of his death knell and asks if he will be able to hear it.
In conclusion the poet perhaps senses he will not be remebered in the way he would like to be. There is a feeling of insecurity, scepticism and realism in these lines.
 
People who read Thomas Hardy also read

 
 
  Top 500 Poems

  1. Phenomenal Woman
    Maya Angelou
  2. Still I Rise
    Maya Angelou
  3. If You Forget Me
    Pablo Neruda
  4. Dreams
    Langston Hughes
  5. The Road Not Taken
    Robert Frost
  6. Annabel Lee
    Edgar Allan Poe
  7. I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You
    Pablo Neruda
  8. If
    Rudyard Kipling
  9. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
    Maya Angelou
  10. A Dream Within A Dream
    Edgar Allan Poe
The complete list of Top 500 Poems >>
 
 

(c) Poems are the property of their respective owners. All information has been reproduced here for educational and informational purposes to benefit site visitors, and is provided at no charge..  About Us | Copyright notice | Privacy statement | Help
2/12/2012 6:24:34 PM. #.# You Are Here: Afterwards by Thomas Hardy

Home | Poets | Poems | Free Poetry eBooks | Contests | Sites | Submit a Poem | Manage Your Poems | Game Gar | Oyun | Contact Us

Christmas Poems | Love Poems | Pablo Neruda | Death Poems | Sad Poems | Birthday Poems | Wedding Poems | Nature Poems | Sorry Poems 

[Hata Bildir]