Awakening alone,
Proceeding on my own
To negotiate the day
As I’d done too long to say—

Now that I had a lover
That life of mine was over.
My next would be with her,
And doubtless happier—

Though fondness, truth to tell,
Inflected my farewell
To the solitude that I
Had been companioned by.

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Daniel Brown’s critical book Subjects in Poetry was published in 2021 by lsu Press.



This article originally appeared in The New Criterion, Volume 29 Number 5, on page 35
Copyright © 2023 The New Criterion | www.newcriterion.com
https://newcriterion.com/issues/2011/1/farewell

Topics: Poetry

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