Time & Brevity

Come not; yet come!

by Thomas Hardy 1840–1928

From Human Shows, Far Phantasies, Songs and Trifles (1925)

Time & Brevity

In my sage moments I can say,
Come not near,
But far in foreign regions stay,
So that here
A mind may grow again serene and clear.

But the thought withers. Why should I
Have fear to earn me
Fame from your nearness, though thereby
Old fires new burn me,
And lastly, maybe, tear and overturn me!

So I say, Come: deign again shine
Upon this place,
Even if unslackened smart be mine
From that sweet face,
And I faint to a phantom past all trace.

✦ ✦ ✦

(Song)

MLA

Hardy, Thomas. “Come not; yet come!” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/hardy/530/.

Chicago

Hardy, Thomas. “Come not; yet come!” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/hardy/530/.

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