Time does not bring relief (Sonnet II)
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Time does not bring relief; you all have lied
Who told me time would ease me of my pain!
I miss him in the weeping of the rain;
I want him at the shrinking of the tide;
The old snows melt from every mountain-side,
And last year’s leaves are smoke in every lane;
But last year’s bitter loving must remain
Heaped on my heart, and my old thoughts abide.
There are a hundred places where I fear
To go,—so with his memory they brim.
And entering with relief some quiet place
Where never fell his foot or shone his face
I say, “There is no memory of him here!”
And so stand stricken, so remembering him.
Who told me time would ease me of my pain!
I miss him in the weeping of the rain;
I want him at the shrinking of the tide;
The old snows melt from every mountain-side,
And last year’s leaves are smoke in every lane;
But last year’s bitter loving must remain
Heaped on my heart, and my old thoughts abide.
There are a hundred places where I fear
To go,—so with his memory they brim.
And entering with relief some quiet place
Where never fell his foot or shone his face
I say, “There is no memory of him here!”
And so stand stricken, so remembering him.
I like this sonnet II "Time Does Not Bring Relief: You All Have Lied" by Edna St. Vincent Millay of 14 lines. The poem is formal verse as opposed to free verse. The poem is written in iambic pentameter (5 beats per line with unstressed and stressed syllables . This sonnet is an Italian sonnet in form (Petrarchan). The sonnet's first four lines have a rhyme scheme of ABBA. The sonnet's second four lines have a rhyme scheme of ABBA as well. Together, they form an octave. The poem deals with the issue that time, in the narrator's view.The narrator in this sonnet feels that people have lied in saying that time heals all. There is evident grief in the tone of this poem. The narrator in the poem discloses that she misses her male companion immensely. She misses him in "the weeping of the rain;" She misses him as she continues to experience many events and situations in life; she misses her lover in all of her day-to-day living.
There are many places where she fears to go because the memories of her lover are so strong. Consequently, she seeks out places where his feet have never trod, hoping that the painful memories will not arise in her. She seeks to "with relief some quiet place". However, when she does visit a place that her lover never visited, she ponders the fact that he never ever came to this place. This, in fact, makes memories of him arise, and therefore, in this place, she experiences more memories of her lover, which exacts an emotional toll on her.
There are many places where she fears to go because the memories of her lover are so strong. Consequently, she seeks out places where his feet have never trod, hoping that the painful memories will not arise in her. She seeks to "with relief some quiet place". However, when she does visit a place that her lover never visited, she ponders the fact that he never ever came to this place. This, in fact, makes memories of him arise, and therefore, in this place, she experiences more memories of her lover, which exacts an emotional toll on her.