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James and Mary Ford, eds. Every Day in the Year. 1902.

May 23

I Remember, I Remember

By Thomas Hood (1799–1845)

  • Thomas Hood was born on May 23, 1798.


  • I REMEMBER, I remember

    The house where I was born,

    The little window where the sun

    Came peeping in at morn;

    He never came a wink too soon,

    Nor brought too long a day;

    But now, I often wish the night

    Had borne my breath away!

    I remember, I remember

    The roses, red and white,

    The violets, and the lily-cups—

    Those flowers made of light!

    The lilacs where the robin built,

    And where my brother set

    The laburnum on his birth-day,—

    The tree is living yet!

    I remember, I remember

    Where I was used to swing,

    And thought the air must rush as fresh

    To swallows on the wing;

    My spirit flew in feathers then,

    That is so heavy now,

    And summer pools could hardly cool

    The fever on my brow!

    I remember, I remember

    The fir-trees dark and high;

    I used to think their slender tops

    Were close against the sky.

    It was a childish ignorance,

    But now ’tis little joy.

    To know I’m farther off from heaven

    Than when I was a boy.