Classic and Contemporary Poetry
GODDESS, by DOROTHY O'GARA First Line: Love was my taper. To this shrine of mine Last Line: I knelt too near the flame -- and I am blind! Subject(s): Goddesses & Gods; Hearts; Love; Mythology; Shrines | ||||||||
Love was my taper. To this shrine of mine Men came -- as they have come since first the flame Began to burn -- to lay their offerings Of rarest perfumes, costly frankincense, Here at my feet for me, their deity. Such sacrifice as this was mine to wring From each new heart that to my altar rail Approached with yearning in its wistful wings; While I, a goddess, drunk with beauty's fire, Breathed in the incense from their offerings. A goddess, yes! But even hearts divine Have in them something of the human stuff That makes them lust for homage. So, one day, In eagerness to see the gifts they brought, I leaned from out my niche, beyond the line Which separates the woman from the god. There I beheld two eyes so full of love I knelt too near the flame -- and I am blind! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SONNET FROM JAPAN: 2. THE SHRINE OF THE PILGRIM SANDALS by ADELAIDE NICHOLS BAKER THE DESERTED SHRINE by GLADYS CROMWELL THE SHRINE by DIGBY MACKWORTH DOLBEN ON THE MARIEN CAPELLE, CARLSBAD by ROWLAND EYLES EGERTON-WARBURTON SEEN ON A WAR-SHRINE IN PENNSYLVANIA by E. M. GREEVES-CARPENTER SHRINE AND SPIRIT by HARRIET OLDS HENDERSON ADELAIDE AND JOHN WILKES BOOTH by EDGAR LEE MASTERS |
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