Summer Dawn Poem by William Morris

Summer Dawn

Rating: 2.4


Pray but one prayer for me 'twixt thy closed lips,
Think but one thought of me up in the stars.
The summer night waneth, the morning light slips,
Faint and grey 'twixt the leaves of the aspen, betwixt the cloud-bars
That are patiently waiting there for the dawn:
Patient and colourless, though Heaven's gold
Waits to float through them along with the sun.
Far out in the meadows, above the young corn,
The heavy elms wait, and restless and cold
The uneasy wind rises; the roses are dun;
Through the long twilight they pray for the dawn,
Round the lone house in the midst of the corn,
Speak but one word to me over the corn,
Over the tender, bow'd locks of the corn.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Peter Booth 17 May 2019

I have always assumed that this poem was about a loved one (wife, husband) of the poet who has recently died. Having mourned through the night he is finally seeing the dawn. Since the advent of the internet I looked for articles about the poem but I could find none that corroborated this interpretation. I'd like to know what other members of this site think.

2 0 Reply
John Shakespeare 08 February 2022

It doesn't really matter whom the poem is about. It must be one of the most beautiful sonnets ever written

0 0
Margaret O Driscoll 24 March 2016

Great imagery and a sense of the wonder of a new day

2 0 Reply
READ THIS POEM IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Close
Error Success