Theme Thursday = Earth

The Return


Earth does not understand her child,
Who from the loud gregarious town
Returns, depleted and defiled,
To the still woods, to fling him down.

Earth can not count the sons she bore:
The wounded lynx, the wounded man
Come trailing blood unto her door;
She shelters both as best she can.

But she is early up and out,
To trim the year or strip its bones;
She has no time to stand about
Talking of him in undertones

Who has no aim but to forget,
Be left in peace, be lying thus
For days, for years, for centuries yet,
Unshaven and anonymous;

Who, marked for failure, dulled by grief,
Has traded in his wife and friend
For this warm ledge, this alder leaf:
Comfort that does not comprehend.


Edna St. Vincent Millay, 1934
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How appropriate that this Theme Thursday is "earth", this coming
Wednesday being Earth Day. Since you know I am taking full
advantage of National Poetry Month, I had to post this powerful
piece by one of my very favorite poets, Edna St. Vincent Millay,
1892 – 1950. She was an American lyrical poet and playwright, the
shining red haired heroine of bohemian fame, famous for her
insouciance and bravado. Millay was the first woman to receive the
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1923.
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photo from Flickr by mikE~510