Author: Madison Julius Cawein

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Not all the bravery that day puts on
 Of gold and azure, ardent or austere,
 Shall ease my soul of sorrow; grown more dear
 Than all the joy that heavenly hope may don.
 Far up the skies the rumor of the dawn
 May run, and eve like some wild torch appear;
 These shall not change the darkness, gathered here,
 Of thought, that rusts like an old sword undrawn.
 Oh, for a place deep-sunken from the sun!
 A wildwood cave of primitive rocks and moss!
 Where Sleep and Silence, breast to married breast
 Lie with their child, night-eyed Oblivion;
 Where, freed from all the trouble of my cross,
 I might forget, I might forget, and rest!

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Type of Poem: Sonnet

Date Written:

Date Published:

Language: English

Keywords: Public Domain

Source: Public Domain Collection

Publisher:

Rights/Permissions: Public Domain

Comments/Notes: This poem is a tender exploration of sorrow, longing, and the yearning for escape. The speaker contrasts the beauty and vitality of the external world (the "gold and azure" of the day, the rumor of dawn, the torchlike evening) with their internal darkness and rusted thoughts. This juxtaposition underscores the speaker's sense of melancholy and detachment, and their inability to find solace in the world's beauty.

The poem's structure, comprised of carefully constructed rhymes, echoes the speaker's longing for order amidst emotional turmoil. The vivid imagery, such as the "old sword undrawn" and "wildwood cave of primitive rocks and moss," further deepens the sense of despair and longing. The speaker's yearning for "Sleep and Silence" and "night-eyed Oblivion" underscores their desire for escape from their sorrow, an escape so profound it annihilates memory and consciousness. The repetition of "I might forget" in the last line emphasizes this longing for absolute oblivion, ending the poem on a note of poignant despair.