OBSERVANT of the way she told So much of what was true, No vanity could long withhold Regard that was her due: She spared him the familiar guile, So easily achieved, That only made a man to smile And left him undeceived. Aware that all imagining Of more than what she meant Would urge an end of everything, He stayed; and when he went, They parted with a merry word That was to him as light As any that was ever heard Upon a starry night. She smiled a little, knowing well That he would not remark The ruins of a day that fell Around her in the dark: He saw no ruins anywhere, Nor fancied there were scars On anyone who lingered there, Alone below the stars. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CITY VIGNETTE: DUSK by SARA TEASDALE THE PARTING OF THE WAYS by JOSEPH BENSON GILDER THE EVE OF ST. AGNES by JOHN KEATS ODES: BOOK 2: ODE 11. TO THE COUNTRY GENTLEMEN OF ENGLAND by MARK AKENSIDE SONNETS OF MANHOOD: SONNET 25. 'SOMETHING WAS WANTING' by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) LINES TO A FITFUL LOVER by MIRIAM BARRANGER |