When first upon my brow I felt your kiss, A sudden splendour filled me, like the ray That promptly runs to crown the hills with bliss Of purple dawn before the golden day, And ends the gloom it crosses at one leap. My brow was not unworthy your caress; For some foreboding joy had bade me keep From all affront the place your lips would bless. Yet when your mouth upon my mouth did lay The royal touch, no rapture made me thrill, But I remained confused, ashamed, and still; Beneath your kiss, my queen without a stain, I felt, -- like ghosts who rise at Judgment Day, -- A throng of ancient kisses vile and vain! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SOLOMON TO SHEBA by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS THE BURIAL OF SIR JOHN MOORE AT [OR AFTER] CORUNNA by CHARLES WOLFE PEARLS OF THE FAITH: 18. AL-RAZZAK by EDWIN ARNOLD THE OLD JEW by MAXWELL BODENHEIM A BOOK OF AIRS: SONG 23. YET STILL I LIVE by THOMAS CAMPION |