by Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)

Language: English 
A fair slim boy not made for this world’s pain,
   With hair of gold thick clustering round his ears,
   And longing eyes half veiled by foolish tears
Like bluest water seen through mists of rain;
Pale cheeks whereon no kiss hath left its stain,
   Red under-lip drawn in for fear of Love,
   And white throat, whiter than the silvered dove —
Alas! alas! if all should be in vain.
Corn-fields behind, and reapers all a-row
In weariest labour, toiling wearily,
To no sweet sound of laughter, or of lute;
And careless of the crimson sunset-glow,
The boy still dreams; nor knows that night is nigh,
And in the night-time no man gathers fruit.

Note provided by Garrett Medlock: This poem is an earlier version of Wilde's "Madonna Mia" originally published in the Dublin University magazine Kottabos in 1877. It was edited to reference a female subject and published as "Madonna Mia" in Wilde's first edition of poetry in 1881. The first eight lines are very similar between the two versions, with only the subject and a few descriptors differing. The description of the subject's throat used by Medlock ("whiter than the silvered dove") is from "Madonna Mia." The final six lines of the two sonnets are entirely distinct from one another. See below for a link to the other text.

Composition:

Text Authorship:

  • by Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), "Wasted days", written 1877, Dublin: Kottabos, Michaelmas Term, 1877, first published 1877

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Researcher for this page: Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2025-08-28
Line count: 14
Word count: 115