The Mind
Sonnet LXXXVIII: Nepenthe
From Elegiac Sonnets, and Other Poems (1800)
Oh! for imperial Polydamna's art,
Which to bright Helen was in Egypt taught,
To mix with magic power the oblivious draught
Of force to staunch the bleeding of the heart,
And to Care's wan and hollow cheek impart
The smile of happy youth, uncursed with thought.
Potent indeed the charm that could appease
Affection's ceaseless anguish, doom'd to weep
O'er the cold grave; or yield even transient ease
By soothing busy Memory to sleep!
—Around me those who surely must have tried
Some charm of equal power, I daily see,
But still to me Oblivion is denied,
There's no Nepenthe, now, on earth for me.
Codex Note
Smith wishes for Polydamna's potion, the drug of forgetfulness that Helen is given in the Odyssey, to staunch her grief. The sonnet's last line says that no such Nepenthe exists on earth for her.
Cite this poem
MLA
Smith, Charlotte. “Sonnet LXXXVIII: Nepenthe.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/smith/28/.
Chicago
Smith, Charlotte. “Sonnet LXXXVIII: Nepenthe.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/smith/28/.
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