To an Unborn Pauper Child
Thomas Hardy
1840 to 1928
Track 1
Reconstruct the poem by dragging each line into its correct position. You can also use the up (↑) and down (↓) arrows to move a line one place at a time, or the top (⇑) and bottom (⇓) arrows to move a line directly to the top or bottom. Your goal is to reassemble the original poem as accurately as possible. As you move the lines, you'll see whether your arrangement is correct, helping you explore the poem's flow and meaning. You can also print out the jumbled poem to cut up and reassemble in the classroom. Either way, take your time, enjoy the process, and discover how the poet's words come together to create something truly beautiful.
Easy Mode - Auto check enabled
And though thy birth-hour beckons thee,
Sleep the long sleep:
In full for thee; can dream thou'lt find
Must come and bide. And such are we-
Joys seldom yet attained by humankind!
That I can hope
Hopes dwindle; yea,
To theeward fly: to thy locked sense
Thou wilt thy ignorant entry make
Though skies spout fire and blood and nations quake.
Ere their terrestrial chart unrolls,
Of earth's wide wold for thee, where not
Affections and enthusiasms numb:
Explain none can
And put it to thee: Wilt thou take Life so?
To cease, or be,
But I am weak as thou and bare;
And thou wert free
Then would I tell thee all I know,
Health, love, friends, scope
No man can change the common lot to rare.
Vain vow! No hint of mine may hence
Unreasoning, sanguine, visionary-
Fain would I, dear, find some shut plot
Breathe not, hid Heart: cease silently,
Thou canst not mend these things if thou dost come.
Had I the ear of wombed souls
One tear, one qualm,
Faiths waste away,
Should break the calm.
Travails and teens around us here,
Hark, how the peoples surge and sigh,
Life's pending plan:
The Doomsters heap
And laughters fail, and greetings die;
And Time-Wraiths turn our songsingings to fear.
© 2024-2025 R.I.Chalmers (V2Melody).
All music on this site by R.I.Chalmers (V2Melody) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Attribution Requirement:
When using this music, you must give appropriate credit by including the following statement (or equivalent) wherever the music is used or credited:
"Music by R.I.Chalmers (V2Melody) – https://v2melody.com"
Support My Work:
If you enjoy this music and would like to support future creations, your thanks are always welcome but never required.
Thanks!