Slipping Away by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
The poem explores the theme of a dying relationship, where the speaker's lover is emotionally and physically drifting away. The speaker describes the gradual disintegration of their bond, likening it to the ebbing of the tide, the fading of sunlight, and the melting of snow. Despite the speaker's attempts to hold on, their lover continues to slip away, leaving them with a sense of despair and loss.
By Ella Wheeler Wilcox · First published 1916 · Genre: Poetry, Philosophical, Melancholic · 273 words
First lines
Slipping away-slipping away! Out of our brief year slips the May; And Winter lingers, and Summer flies; And Sorrow abideth, and Pleasure dies; And the days are short, and the nights are long; And little is right, and much is wrong.
Slipping away is the Summer time; It has lost its rhythm and lilting rhyme- For the grace goes out of the day so soon, And the tired head aches in the glare of noon, And the way seems long to the hills that lie Under the calm of the western sky.
What this Textopian page supports
Slipping Away is listed on Textopian as a poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, dated 1916 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Ella Wheeler Wilcox
- Date: 1916 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Philosophical, Melancholic, Reflective
- Length: 273 words
- Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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Similar titles
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- Let Them Go by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
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Genres
- Poetry — The work is structured in verse and employs poetic devices such as rhyme and meter.
- Philosophical — The themes explore existential concepts such as the passage of time, the nature of life and death, and the transient nature of human experiences.
- Melancholic — The tone and themes are predominantly sorrowful, reflecting on loss, betrayal, and the fleeting nature of happiness.
- Reflective — The work encourages introspection and contemplation about life's impermanence and the inevitability of change.
Tags
Poetry · American Literature · Romanticism · Love Poems · Heartbreak · Longing · Melancholy · Nostalgia · Yearning · Loss · Grief · Sorrow