Star over Bethlehem - Agatha Christie [30]
Which never held a child.
Your cheek is smooth as Dresden ware
With ne’er a line to tell of care,
You—who have watched and smiled!
So Pain has passed you by,
And Love and Toil and Sin …
You’ve dwelt within a self-built wall,
And when the shell shall break and fall
There’s emptiness within …
Wild Roses
I KNOW
Where the wild roses grow
Beside the lake.
The little spirits come and play,
And pink and white
Dance in the light
Before the break of day!
The sun comes up in golden heat,
The roses open wide … and fall …
And that is all …
Except I think I hear a sound
Along the ground,
Of many little pattering feet …
No more
Shall my wild rose of yore
Walk by the lake.
She told me where the rose sprites were
And how they played
All undismayed
By her sweet presence there!
Then Death rose up twixt her and me!
She turned her, smiling, to his call …
And that is all …
Except I cannot bear to go
Where roses grow
Beside the lake—so wild and free …
Love Passes
LOVE passes! On the hearth dead embers lie
Where once there burned a fire of living flame,
Where we, starved children, sheltering in shame,
Stretched out our hands, and let the world go by,
Warming our frozen hearts in ecstasy
And dreaming Love should always be the same …
In vain your pity! And in vain my blame!
Love passes—and we know not whence or why …
Love passes out into the silent night,
We may not hold him who has served our will
And, for a while, made magic common things …
Now, like a bird, he spreads his wings in flight,
And we are left in darkness—listening still
To the faint far-off beating of his wings …
Progression
LOVE comes as the Spring comes
Fearing …
Dreading …
The brown boughs are in blossom;
A breath of frost,
A wind from the leas,
And the blossom would fall …
But close to the earth
The tiny common flowers
Blossom unheeded …
Summer!
And love …
Stillness
And at the heart of the Stillness
A throb …
Flame!
Flame in the Forest!
Flame in my heart!
Lover of mine
Never was love such as ours
Ecstasy …
Joy …
Passion …
Pain …
Closer, O heart of mine …
Closer yet …
Your lips …
In the Forest the leaves are on fire,
Spendthrift and reckless their joy!
Riot of life!
What was that strange dry sound?
A leaf that crackled beneath my feet
Withered and brown …
Closer, O heart of mine.
I am afraid …
Your lips …
Wintertime
Peace
Dead heart
(Or asleep?)
A touch?
A kiss?
What are these that they leave me so cold?
Emptiness
Death …
A bird in the wood,
Now do I surely know that I shall awake!
Return once more to love and delight,
Springtime will come again,
The almond trees blossom once more …
And yet I weep,
For never again shall I tread love’s ways with you …
Farewell, O Lover of mine,
Our day is done.
Wintertime
Peace
O lover of mine that I loved,
Farewell …
There Where My Lover Lies
THERE where my lover lies,
A King palm at his head,
The earth is warm and kind,
A little whispering wind
Comes from the hills,
Lingers in passing … and then dies …
There where my lover lies
Greeting the dead …
No frangipani flow’rs,
Honeyed and sweet,
Shall mock our radiant hours,
But at his feet
Night blooming Cereus grows …
You were a king, my love, and I
In the far North lie nightly down to die.
Then, on your grave, a thousand flowers are born,
Wide cups of white
Filled with delight,
Lasting their radiant hour to dawn!
There lies my lover—dead,
A King palm at his head,
Night Cereus at his feet,
The night is all too fleet …
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