Grief and Mourning

Where it surfaces

• Uranne

  The chapter is saturated with grief: the death of the child, the father, Uranne, and Marco's final collapse of sorrow.

• Magnolia

  The narrator's slow, sad steps and descriptions of widowed hearts and sorrow reflect deep mourning for the dead.

• To My Mother

  The entire poem is an expression of grief over the mother's death, detailing the speaker's anguish and the lasting blight on their future.

• Nestle-Down Cottage

  The narrator mourns the death of a child and the absence of the other, with the cottage standing as a memorial to lost innocence.

• Mother's Recall

  The mother's sorrow and longing for her absent children, expressed through waiting and sighing.

• The Dying Girl

  The sister is left behind with sorrow, and the woodland requiem at sunset underscores the mourning for the departed.

• Twilight Musing

  The poem's tone is one of deep sorrow and isolation, with the heart 'lone and drear' and stormy billows of grief.

• Lines to Florence

  The mother's profound sorrow and longing for her lost child permeate the poem.

• By the Waters of Babylon

  The chapter is a direct expression of mourning and sorrow, with the exiles hanging their harps and refusing to sing in a strange land.

• The Pen

  The pen is described as capable of assuaging grief like Gilead's balm, yet also darkening life with sorrows grim, reflecting the dual nature of grief.

• Passing of the Old Year

  The poem dwells on hearts broken, love unspoken, and a mother's silent anguish over graves, emphasizing the sorrow of loss.

• Sonnet to My Firstborn

  The mother's aching heart and ceaseless longing for her lost son dominate the poem, expressing profound grief.

• The Cherokee

  The warrior mourns the loss of his loved ones, his bride 'Raven Wing,' and his homeland.

• Ode to Peace

  The poem addresses 'many a heart-crushed mourner' and 'hearts that have been riven'.

• A Reverie

  The entire poem meditates on the anguish of loss and the heart's grave.

• The Past

  The speaker mourns loved ones who have 'passed on before' to the spirit land, evoking a sense of loss.

• Tribute to a Lost Steamer

  The entire poem is a dirge mourning the loss of those who perished in a shipwreck.

• A Requiem

  The speaker directly addresses Death with anguish, describes the grave, and calls on nature to honor the deceased, embodying deep personal grief.

• The Grafted Bud

  The speaker mourns the child's untimely death, describing her as 'rudely torn from earthly bliss' and 'doomed to die.'

• In Memoriam

  The chapter is a direct expression of grief and mourning for multiple deceased individuals.

• Tribute to Capt. F. W. Dawson

  The entire chapter is an expression of collective grief for Capt. Dawson, with Carolina personified as weeping for her fallen chieftain.

• Mrs. Louise B. Weston

  The narrator mourns the loss of their mother while finding solace in her heavenly rest.

• In Memoriam

  The poem is a direct expression of a mother's sorrow over the loss of her child, emphasizing the pain of absence and the solace of memory.

• Mr. Edward Fordham

  The poem expresses communal grief through symbols of love while finding comfort in the belief that the deceased has found relief from pain.

• Death of a Grandparent

  The poem expresses mourning through the imagery of laying the grandmother to rest beneath bending willows, yet comforts with the hope of resurrection.

• Queenie

  The speaker mourns Queenie's brief life but finds solace in her heavenly rest.

• To an Infant

  The poem directly addresses the sorrow of losing a child, yet seeks comfort in faith.

• Mrs. E. Cohrs Brown

  The narrator is bowed in anguish over the loss of the young woman.

• Mrs. Mary Furman Weston Byrd

  The obituary expresses deep loss and mourning for Mrs. Byrd, with family and community grieving her passing.