The Inconsistent

By Thomas Hardy

6/2/1840-1/11/1928


I say, "She was as good as fair,"
         When standing by her mound;
"Such passing sweetness," I declare,
         "No longer treads the ground."
I say, "What living Love can catch
         Her bloom and bonhomie,
And what in newer maidens match
         Her olden warmth to me!"

- There stands within yon vestry-nook
         Where bonded lovers sign,
Her name upon a faded book
         With one that is not mine.
To him she breathed the tender vow
         She once had breathed to me,
But yet I say, "O love, even now
         Would I had died for thee!"

DayPoems Poem No. 1039
<a href="http://www.daypoems.net/poems/1039.html">The Inconsistent by Thomas Hardy</a>

The DayPoems Poetry Collection, www.daypoems.net
Timothy Bovee, editor

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