IN after years a twilight ghost shall fill With shadowy presence all thy waiting room: From lips of air thou canst not kiss the bloom; Yet at old kisses will thy pulses thrill, And the old longing, that thou couldst not kill, Feeling her presence in the gathering gloom, Will mock thee with the hopelessness of doom, While she stands there and smiles, serene and still. Thou canst not vex her, then, with passion's pain: Call, and the silence will thy call repeat; But she will smile there, with cold lips and sweet, Forgetful of old tortures, and the chain That once she wore, the tears she wept in vain At passing from her threshold of thy feet. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ON THE DEATH OF MR. CRASHAW by ABRAHAM COWLEY THE WAYS OF TIME by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES ON BOARD THE '76; WRITTEN FOR BRYANT'S SEVENTIETH BIRTHDAY by JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL APOLOGIA PRO POEMATE MEO by WILFRED OWEN PROMISES LIKE A PIE-CRUST by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI THE KNIGHT AND THE LADY; DOMESTIC LEGEND OF THE REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE by RICHARD HARRIS BARHAM |