First World War Poetry Digital Archive

First Known when Lost

FIRST KNOWN WHEN LOST by EDWARD THOMAS I never had noticed it until 'Twas gone,---the narrow copse Where now the woodman lops The last of the willows with his bill. It was not more than a hedge o'ergrown. One meadow's breadth away I passed it day by day. Now the soil is bare as a bone, And black betwixt two meadows green, Though fresh-cut faggot ends Of hazel made some amends With a gleam as if flowers they had been. Strange it could have hidden so near! And now I see as I look That the small winding brook, A tributary's tributary rises there.

Citation

“First Known when Lost,” by Thomas, Edward (1878-1917). Copyright Edward Thomas, 1979, reproduced under licence from Faber and Faber Ltd. via First World War Poetry Digital Archive, accessed March 29, 2024, http://ww1lit.nsms.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/item/2877.

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