As I lay on the stranger's bed, And clasped the stranger-woman I had hired, Desiring only memory dead Of all that I had once desired; It was then that I wholly knew How wholly I had loved you, and, my friend, While I am I, and you are you, How I must love you to the end. For I lay in her arms awake, Awake and cursing the indifferent night, That ebbed so slowly, for your sake, My heart's desire, my soul's delight; For I lay in her arms awake, Awake in such a solitude of shame, That when I kissed her, for your sake, My lips were sobbing on your name. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SUPER FLUMINA BABYLONIS by ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE DARBY AND JOAN by FREDERIC EDWARD WEATHERLY |