two poems, perhaps in dialogue?

[jade_sabre]

From Second April
I
Edna St. Vincent Millay

We talk of taxes, and I call you friend;
Well, such you are, — but well enough we know
How thick about us root, how rankly grow
Those subtle weeds no man has need to tend,
That flourish through neglect, and soon must send
Perfume too sweet upon us and overthrow
Our steady senses; how such matters go
We are aware, and how such matters end.
Yet shall be told no meagre passion here;
With lovers such as we forevermore
Isolde drinks the draught, and Guinevere
Receives the Table's ruin through her door,
Francesca, with the loud surf at her ear,
Lets fall the coloured book upon the floor.





Those Who Love
Sara Teasdale

Those who love the most,
Do not talk of their love,
Francesca, Guinevere,
Deirdre, Iseult, Heloise,
In the fragrant gardens of heaven
Are silent, or speak if at all
Of fragile, inconsequent things.

And a woman I used to know
Who loved one man from her youth,
Against the strength of the fates
Fighting in somber pride,
Never spoke of this thing,
But hearing his name by chance,
A light would pass over her face.

Comments

[beth-shulman.livejournal.com]

I love Edna St. Vincent Millay. I know almost nothing about her and I haven't read her since high school but I still remember her poetry... She has this way with imagery.

This is the one I remember:

God's World

O world, I cannot hold thee close enough!
Thy winds, thy wide grey skies!
Thy mists, that roll and rise!
Thy woods, this autumn day, that ache and sag
And all but cry with colour! That gaunt crag
To crush! To lift the lean of that black bluff!
World, World, I cannot get thee close enough!

Long have I known a glory in it all,
But never knew I this;
Here such a passion is
As stretcheth me apart,—Lord, I do fear
Thou’st made the world too beautiful this year;
My soul is all but out of me,—let fall
No burning leaf; prithee, let no bird call.

I just - I love her.

[beautyinsleep.livejournal.com]

I love them both! But the second poem, last stanza...I love it the most.

How do you find such awesome poetry?

[tiegirl.livejournal.com]

^This

[willow-41z.livejournal.com]

Oh, Edna St. Vincent Millay is great. I wrote on one of her sonnets sophomore year, and meant to read a lot of her work afterward, but never did. Need to get on that. Along with Auden.