Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


TWO LIVES. PART 1: 15 by WILLIAM ELLERY LEONARD

First Line: SHE LACKED ALL ANALYTIC TO INFER
Last Line: AND QUIET HERS AND HIDE MY OWN ALARMS.

She lacked all analytic to infer,
Knew not my suffering; though afterward,
When things with us began to go so hard,
She felt, she knew what I'd become for her
Or tried to: "O my knight, my rescuer,
From cave and forest, O my savior-prince,
For whom I waited, O long since, long since,
Without your coming, where and whither were
My steps today!" -- Her poignant gratitude
Would shame me into silence, into fear --
For on her lashes there would be the tear,
And something not of earth in her wild mood.
And from my neck I would unwind her arms,
And quiet hers and hide my own alarms.



Home: PoetryExplorer.net