Honoring Mr. Lioncoln

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Walt Whitman's poetry tribute written shortly after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on this date in 1865 ~ here are the first three stanzas

When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom'd

1

When lilacs last in the door-yard bloom'd,  
And the great star early droop'd in the western sky in the night,  
I mourn'd--and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.  
  
O ever-returning spring! trinity sure to me you bring;  
Lilac blooming perennial, and drooping star in the west,
And thought of him I love.  
  

2

O powerful, western, fallen star!  
O shades of night! O moody, tearful night!  
O great star disappear'd! O the black murk that hides the star!  
O cruel hands that hold me powerless! O helpless soul of me!
O harsh surrounding cloud, that will not free my soul!  
  

3

In the door-yard fronting an old farm-house, near the white-wash'd
   palings,  
Stands the lilac bush, tall-growing, with heart-shaped leaves of rich
   green,  
With many a pointed blossom, rising, delicate, with the perfume
   strong I love,  
With every leaf a miracle......and from this bush in the door-yard,
With delicate-color'd blossoms, and heart-shaped leaves of rich
   green,  
A sprig, with its flower, I break.  

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This page contains a single entry by Carol published on April 14, 2011 10:49 PM.

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