WE sat in the room And praised her whom We saw in the portico-shade outside: She could not hear What was said of her, But smiled, for its purport we did not hide. Then in was brought That message, fraught With evil fortune for her out there, Whom we loved that day More than any could say, And would fain have fenced from a waft of care And the question pressed Like lead on each breast, Should we cloak the tidings, or call her and tell? It was too intense A choice for our sense, As we pondered and watched her we loved so well. Yea, spirit failed us At what assailed us; How long, while seeing what soon must come, Should we counterfeit No knowledge of it, And stay the stroke that would blanch and numb? And thus, before For evermore Joy left her, we practised to beguile Her innocence when She now and again Looked in, and smiled us another smile. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SONNET by MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI THE LITTLE GHOST by EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY A PAUSE by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI THE WITCHES' FROLIC by RICHARD HARRIS BARHAM QUATORZAINS: 8. TO SILENCE by THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES THE SECOND COVENANT by WILLIAM ROSE BENET THE LOVE SONNETS OF PROTEUS: 104. WRITTEN AT FLORENCE: 2 by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT |