Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


JUDITH by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY

Poet Analysis

First Line: O HER EYES ARE AMBER-FINE--
Last Line: SWEET AS HEATED HONEY IS.
Subject(s): EYES; FACES; KISSES;

O HER eyes are amber-fine --
Dark and deep as wells of wine,
While her smile is like the noon
Splendor of a day of June.
If she sorrow -- lo! her face
It is like a flowery space
In bright meadows, overlaid
With light clouds and lulled with shade.
If she laugh -- it is the trill
Of the wayward whippoorwill
Over upland pastures, heard
Echoed by the mocking-bird
In dim thickets dense with bloom
And blurred cloyings of perfume.
If she sigh -- a zephyr swells
Over odorous asphodels
And wan lilies in lush plots
Of moon-drown'd forget-me-nots.
Then, the soft touch of her hand --
Takes all breath to understand
What to liken it thereto! --
Never rose-leaf rinsed with dew
Might slip soother-suave than slips
Her slow palm, the while her lips
Swoon through mine, with kiss on kiss
Sweet as heated honey is.



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