Author: Madison Julius Cawein

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    Geraldine, Geraldine,
    Do you remember where
    The willows used to screen
    The water flowing fair?
    The mill-stream's banks of green
    Where first our love begun,
    When you were seventeen,
    And I was twenty-one?

    Geraldine, Geraldine,
    Do you remember how
    From th' old bridge we would lean
    The bridge that's broken now
    To watch the minnows sheen,
    And the ripples of the Run,
    When you were seventeen,
    And I was twenty-one?

    Geraldine, Geraldine
    Do you remember too
    The old beech-tree, between
    Whose roots the wild flowers grew?
    Where oft we met at e'en,
    When stars were few or none,
    When you were seventeen,
    And I was twenty-one?

    Geraldine, Geraldine,
    The bark has grown around
    The names I cut therein,
    And the truelove-knot that bound;
    The love-knot, clear and clean,
    I carved when our love begun,
    When you were seventeen,
    And I was twenty-one?

    Geraldine, Geraldine,
    The roof of the farmhouse gray
    Is fallen and mossy green;
    Its rafters rot away:
    The old path scarce is seen
    Where oft our feet would run,
    When you were seventeen,
    And I was twenty-one.

    Geraldine, Geraldine,
    Through each old tree and bough
    The lone winds cry and keen
    The place is haunted now,
    With ghosts of what-has-been,
    With dreams of love-long-done,
    When you were seventeen,
    And I was twenty-one.

    Geraldine, Geraldine,
    There, in your world of wealth,
    There, where you move a queen,
    Broken in heart and health,
    Does there ever rise a scene
    Of days, your soul would shun,
    When you were seventeen,
    And I was twenty-one?

    Geraldine, Geraldine,
    Here, 'mid the rose and rue,
    Would God that your grave were green,
    And I were lying too!
    Here on the hill, I mean,
    Where oft we laughed I' the sun,
    When you were seventeen,
    And I was twenty-one.

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Type of Poem: Lyric Poem

Date Written:

Date Published:

Language: English

Keywords: Public Domain

Source: Public Domain Collection

Publisher:

Rights/Permissions: Public Domain

Comments/Notes: This poem is a deeply nostalgic and melancholic exploration of past love, time, and change. The repetition of "Geraldine, Geraldine" in each stanza creates a haunting refrain, underscoring the speaker's longing and fixation on a past relationship. The recurring age references, "When you were seventeen, And I was twenty-one," emphasize the youthful nature of their love and the speaker's yearning for that lost time.

The detailed imagery of the landscape—the willows, the mill-stream, the old bridge, the beech-tree—paints a rich and vivid picture of their shared past. These natural elements, however, are presented as changed or disappearing, symbolizing the inevitable passage of time and the fading of their love. The poem also uses the metaphor of the 'truelove-knot' carved in the tree bark, suggesting the permanence the speaker once believed their love held, now contrasted with Geraldine's current world of wealth and status, presumably far removed from their humble beginnings.

However, the poem's tone darkens in the final stanzas, where the speaker imagines Geraldine's grave, suggesting a deep sense of loss and despair. This shift in tone from reminiscence to mourning underscores the speaker's deep emotional connection to Geraldine and the profound impact their shared history continues to have on him. The poem thus beautifully weaves together themes of love, loss, memory, and the inexorable passage of time.