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Change Upon Change

By Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Topics: classic

Five months ago the stream did flow,     The lilies bloomed within the sedge,     And we were lingering to and fro,     Where none will track thee in this snow,     Along the stream, beside the hedge.     Ah, Sweet, be free to love and go!     For if I do not hear thy foot,     The frozen river is as mute,     The flowers have dried down to the root:     And why, since these be changed since May,     Shouldst thou change less than they.     And slow, slow as the winter snow     The tears have drifted to mine eyes;     And my poor cheeks, five months ago     Set blushing at thy praises so,     Put paleness on for a disguise.     Ah, Sweet, be free to praise and go!     For if my face is turned too pale,     It was thine oath that first did fail,     It was thy love proved false and frail,     And why, since these be changed enow,     Should I change less than thou.

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"Five months ago the stream did flow,..."

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Author:Elizabeth Barrett Browning

"Five months ago the stream did flow,..." by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

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"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

About Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861) was one of the most prominent English poets of the Victorian era. Her "Sonnets from the Portuguese" are among the most famous love poems in English, and her verse novel "Aurora Leigh" addressed women's roles in society and art.

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"God, God!     With a childs voice I cry,     Weak,..."

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