Grief fills the room up of my absent child,
Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me,
Puts on his pretty looks, repeats his words,
Remembers me of all his gracious parts,
Stuffs out his vacant garments with his form;
Then, have I reason to be fond of grief?
Fare you well: had you such a loss as I,
I could give better comfort than you do.
I will not keep this form upon my head,
When there is such disorder in my wit.
O Lord! my boy, my Arthur, my fair son!
My life, my joy, my food, my all the world!
My widow-comfort, and my sorrows’ cure!
Spoken by Constance, mourning her son Arthur
Full text at : http://shakespeare.mit.edu/john/john.3.4.html
I really get this poem so much. Beautifully said.
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Yes, inndeed. It expresses what I felt when we lost our daughter.
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How did I manage to never read this before? It’s so powerful.
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It’s from a little known play…..
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Which one?
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The Life and Death of King John : http://shakespeare.mit.edu/john/john.3.4.html
I’m hoping to get tickets for it this autumn at Stratford.
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I never even heard of that one to know that I didn’t know it. Thank you.
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I didn’t either until very recently….
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This poem is so meaningful. Of course, Shakespeare lost a dear son as well, Hamnet at age 11, so he knew first hand the intense feelings.
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Yes, indeed, he did.
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