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November 20th, 2009 - we have 234 poets, 8,023 poems and 17,902 comments.
Edna St. Vincent Millay - Recuerdo

WE were very tired, we were very merry­
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.
It was bare and bright, and smelled like a stable­
But we looked into a fire, we leaned across a table,
We lay on a hill-top underneath the moon;
And the whistles kept blowing, and the dawn came soon. 

We were very tired, we were very merry­ 
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry; 
And you ate an apple, and I ate a pear, 
From a dozen of each we had bought somewhere; 
And the sky went wan, and the wind came cold, 
And the sun rose dripping, a bucketful of gold. 

We were very tired, we were very merry,
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.
We hailed, "Good morrow, mother!" to a shawl-covered head, 
And bought a morning paper, which neither of us read;
And she wept, "God bless you!" for the apples and pears,
And we gave her all our money but our subway fares.

Added: on March 22nd, 2009 at 1:29 AM | Viewed: 11865 times | Comments and analysis of Recuerdo by Edna St. Vincent Millay Comments (14)


Recuerdo - Comments and Information

Poet: Edna St. Vincent Millay (Edna St. Vincent Millay Art)
Poem: 3. Recuerdo
Volume: A Few Figs From Thistles
Year: Published/Written in 1921

Comment 14 of 14, added on July 17th, 2009 at 3:55 PM.

I have loved this poem for decades. My husband and I, before he was my husband, loved to ride on the Staten Island ferry. When we married, my sister read the poem at our celebration. When he died, she read it at his funeral. Recuerdo: I remember when we were young and poor but very happy. Recuerdo: I remember when the best things in life were so very simple, as in an all-night ride on the ferry (now they make you get off the ferry, probably for security reasons, and get on again) or a bag of fruit or a cheerful greeting to or from an old woman or a smelly ferry that was, of course, still a boat out on the water and thus still an adventure. Recuerdo: I remember when it was easier to feel free.



Martha from United States
Comment 13 of 14, added on May 28th, 2009 at 2:19 PM.

wow.
no.
its about memories. how vague they are when you finally look back them.
you can never fully remember what happened.

elizabeth from United States
Comment 12 of 14, added on March 22nd, 2009 at 1:29 AM.

I think this is a poem about youth, freedom and two people in love.
although they were tired they were merry because they were together.
although it was bare and bright and smelled like a stable they looked into a fire,leaned across a table and lay on a hilltop underneath the moon because they were in love and together. love changed their perception of their night on the ferry.
they ate an apple and a pear but it was their sharing together the apple and the pair that they enjoyed.they bought a newspaper which they didn't read because they enjoyed being together more than reading the newspaper and though the wind blew cold and the sky was wan they saw the sunrise as a bucketful of gold like their love.By hailing good morning mother to the lady in the shawl, giving her the apples and pears and all their money they were sharing the love they that they felt with someone.

mary from United States

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