Classic and Contemporary Poetry
SUMMER NIGHT; VARIATIONS ON CERTAIN MELODIES: 3. APPASSIONATO, by BAYARD TAYLOR Poet's Biography First Line: Was it a distant flute Last Line: Filled with thy mystery! Alternate Author Name(s): Taylor, James Bayard Subject(s): Dreams; Flutes; Longing; Nightmares | ||||||||
Was it a distant flute That breathed, and now is mute Who that lost soul men call the nightingale, In bosky coverts hidden, Filling with sudden passion all the vale? Oh, chant again the tale, And call on her whose name returns, unbidden, A longing and a dream, Adelaida! For while the sprinkled stars Sparkle, and wink, and gleam, Adelaida! Darkness and perfume cleave the unknown bars Between the enamored heart and thee, And thou and I are free, Adelaida! Less than a name, a melody, art thou, A hope, a haunting vow! The passion-cloven Spirit of thy Beethoven Claimed with less ardor than I claim thee now, Adelaida! Take form, at last: from these o'erbending branches Descend, or from the grass arise I scarce shall see thine eyes, Or know what blush the shadow stanches; But all my being's empty urn shall be Filled with thy mystery! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...VARIATIONS: 14 by CONRAD AIKEN VARIATIONS: 18 by CONRAD AIKEN LIVE IT THROUGH by DAVID IGNATOW A DREAM OF GAMES by JOSEPHINE JACOBSEN THE DREAM OF WAKING by RANDALL JARRELL APOLOGY FOR BAD DREAMS by ROBINSON JEFFERS GIVE YOUR WISH LIGHT by ROBINSON JEFFERS BEDOUIN [LOVE] SONG by BAYARD TAYLOR NATIONAL ODE; INDEPENDENCE SQUARE, PHILADELPHIA by BAYARD TAYLOR |
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