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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE DANGER by NORMAN ROWLAND GALE

First Line: HOW SOON THE PROPHET STARS DECREE
Last Line: TOO LOUD, AND KILL ME AT YOUR FEET.

HOW soon the prophet stars decree
That you shall fall at last to me
I know not. This at least I know,
That many worlds must come and go
Before enchantment brings us both
Together for our long-lost troth.

Often I push my books away,
To search (there's heartbreak in the play)
A map of star-embroidered sky,
And finger space where you and I
Shall whisper of an ancient grief,
And kiss it into unbelief.

World after world shall I be vexed
To miss you, and shall try the next
In patient valour. Slowly nears
Your kiss. And what's a billion years
For me to pay if, when I turn
The golden corner, I discern

(A little pinched by want of mirth)
The face that shook my life on earth?
Fast shall I run to see if you
Still wear those eyes of grey in blue.
The danger is, my heart may beat
Too loud, and kill me at your feet.



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