J.B. Corot / John Payne

J.B. Corot

(Died 22nd February 1875)

Before the earliest violet he died,
Who loved the new green and the stress of spring
So tenderly. He knew that March must bring
The primrose by the brook and all the wide
Green spaces of the forest glorified
With scent and singing, when each passing wing
Would call him and each burst of blossoming:
He knew he could not die in the springtide.
Yet he was weary, for his task was done
And sleep seemed sweet unto the tired eyes:
Weary! for many a year he had seen the sun
Arise; so in the season of the snows
He put off life — ere spring could interpose
To hold him back — and went where Gautier lies.

~~
John Payne (1842-1916)
from New Poems, 1880

[Poem is in the public domain worldwide]

John Payne biography