Death & Dying
It Is Not True
Translated by William N. Loew (1912) · From Cypress Leaves from the Grave of Dear Ethel
Death & Dying
It is not true what I have often heard:
That sorrows great have the power to kill,
Or else, where thou, my sweetheart art interred,
I too, with thee, dear maid, one grave would fill.
Our sorrow 's not an ax which with a blow
Doth fell the tree of life and ends its woe:
It is a worm which gnaws — forever gnaws.
And slow but sure the heart's last blood-drop
draws.
Cite this poem
MLA
Petőfi, Sándor. “It Is Not True.” Translated by William N. Loew. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/petofi/16/.
Chicago
Petőfi, Sándor. “It Is Not True.” Translated by William N. Loew. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/petofi/16/.
Read this poem with the Codex →