Echo-Song

by Thomas Bailey Aldrich — a poem card from Justes Mots

A lover calls upon Echo to repeat the vows and sweet words of a woman who has since betrayed him, hoping the mythic nymph will resurrect the past and console him with 'those sweet lies.' Aldrich's musical, incantatory form mirrors Echo's repetition while exploring themes of loss, denial, and the human desire to recover what has been lost. Resonates with those processing heartbreak through memory.

I

Who can say where Echo dwells?
In some mountain-cave, methinks,
Where the white owl sits and blinks;
Or in deep sequestered dells,
Where the foxglove hangs its bells,
Echo dwells.…

Themes: love · new-baby · wedding · friendship