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Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Change Upon Change

By Simran Khurana, About.com

Poem lyrics of Change Upon Change by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

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 now,
Should I change less than thou.

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A Child Asleep
A Dead Rose
A Man's Requirements
Musical Instrument
A Sea-Side Walk
A Thought For A Lonely Death-Bed
Adequacy
An Apprehension
Change Upon Change
Cheerfulness Taught By Reason
Comfort
Consolation
De Profundis
Discontent
Exaggeration
Futurity
Grief
How Do I Love Thee?
Insufficiency
Irreparableness
Lord Walter's Wife
Minstrelsy
Pain In Pleasure
Past And Future
Patience Taught By Nature
Perplexed Music
Substitution
Tears
The Autumn
The Best Thing In The World
The Deserted Garden
The House Of Clouds
The Lady's Yes
The Landing of Pilgrim Fathers
The Look
The Meaning Of The Look
The Poet And The Bird
The Prisoner
The Seraph and Poet
The Soul's Expression
The Two Sayings
The Weakest Thing
To Flush, My Dog
Work
Work And Contemplation

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Elizabeth Barrett Browning Change Upon Change - Poem Lyrics - Elizabeth Barrett Browning - Change Upon Change

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