Mandragora/First and Last

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For works with similar titles, see First and Last.
First and Last
by John Cowper Powys

Published in Mandragora (1917)

572380First and LastJohn Cowper Powys

FIRST AND LAST


DAWN broke over us cool and sweet
  So long ago!
The great gods walking in the dew
   Made a path for our feet;
Gave roses to me and lilies to you,
And with reeds of the river rare music blew
   And made a path for our feet.

But the hours that came with the growing light
   Drooped as if they were years,
And in faint flute-music from far away,
   The gods, departing, turned to say,
"Nothing can heal the heat of the day
   Save night with its rain of tears."

The wind may carry the roses away,
   But the human heart can only pray;
Pray to the gods thro' the weary years
   For night — for night with its rain of tears.

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.


The longest-living author of this work died in 1963, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 60 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

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