Classic and Contemporary Poetry
LONELINESS, by NIKOLAI (NIKOLAY) STEPANOVICH GUMILEV Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: I slumbered, and the white waves washed me thus Last Line: Of oracles told long ago. Alternate Author Name(s): Gumilyov, Nikolay Subject(s): Solitude; Loneliness | ||||||||
I SLUMBERED, and the white waves washed me thus Sailing my own boat on the sea; And, pale as death, in breakers mountainous My country was revealed to me. It's full of horses wildly galloping And golden caverns of delight; But in it savage panthers wandering Have eyes that flash with flames at night. The patterned grasses marvellously gleam, The rivers are as mirrors clear; But in the forests hidden mandrakes teem And plants of evil and of fear. On blue-white marble there I set upright A lofty beacon-flame to shine That those who sped along the waters might In the far distance see my sign. I promised them the plumes of ostriches, But no one answered to my call To turn and keep his boat from voyages Where the disastrous waters fall. An oracle all did in honour keep, And judgment passed in days gone by, That his heart must for everlasting weep Who in his wandering comes nigh. In slumber shadows drawing near I see, And countries of the spring and noon, But sad clouds weigh upon me heavily In moonbeams of an opal moon. My loneliness upraises every hour A fiery scourge, to let me know That I am doomed to conquest by the power Of oracles told long ago. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...IN ABEYANCE by DENISE LEVERTOV IN A VACANT HOUSE by PHILIP LEVINE SUNDAY ALONE IN A FIFTH FLOOR APARTMENT, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS by WILLIAM MATTHEWS SILENCE LIKE COOL SAND by PAT MORA THE HONEY BEAR by EILEEN MYLES I AND YOU by NIKOLAI (NIKOLAY) STEPANOVICH GUMILEV |
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