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Time Does Not Bring Relief

Author: Edna St. Vincent Millay

This Page Includes: Full Verses of the Poem in Text. A Recording of the Poem (Audio). A Free PDF Download for reading purposes. Free Editable Google Doc Download if you wish to make changes or to personalise the poem. The page also includes what the poem is about, structure of poem and explaining the best parts.

Time Does Not Bring Relief Poem Verses

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.

Audio Recording

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Personalised Poem

Would you like to customise this poem? You have the option to personalise it by accessing the provided link, which will direct you to Google Docs. From there, you can download the poem ‘Memories’ to your personal Google Docs account or Microsoft Word where you will be able to edit the poem however you want.

Personalised Poem

About the poem

This poem, titled "Time does not bring relief," is about the pain of losing someone and how time does not always heal that pain. The speaker is grieving the loss of a loved one and feels the pain of that loss even as time passes. They describe how they miss the loved one during different moments, such as the weeping of the rain and the shrinking of the tide. The speaker also expresses their frustration with people who told them that time would ease their pain. They say that memories of the loved one fill many places they go, making it difficult to escape the pain. The poem ends with the speaker standing in a quiet place where their loved one never went, feeling struck by the memory of the person they lost.

The Structure of Poem

The poem consists of one stanza with a regular rhyme scheme. Each line contains ten syllables and the poem follows an iambic pentameter. The speaker expresses their anguish at the idea that time will heal their pain, insisting that the memory of their lost loved one still haunts them even as nature around them changes. The imagery used in the poem reflects the speaker's sense of loss and how their memory of the loved one seems to pervade every place and experience. The last line emphasizes the speaker's pain and their inability to forget the loved one.

Best Quote from Time Does Not Bring Relief Poem

This is a quote from the poem Time Does Not Bring Relief by Edna St. Vincent Millay

"Time does not bring relief; you all have lied Who told me time would ease me of my pain!"

This opening line sets the tone for the entire poem and expresses a feeling that many people who have experienced loss can relate to. The idea that time will heal all wounds is often presented as a comforting thought, but the speaker of this poem is disillusioned by that notion and expresses her ongoing pain and longing for her loved one.