Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THORN PIECE, by AMY LOWELL Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: Cliffs, / cliffs, / and a twisted sea Last Line: Like leaves falling Subject(s): Gays & Lesbians; Russell, Ada Dwyer (1863-1952); Homoeroticism; Lesbians; Gay Women; Gay Men | ||||||||
Cliffs, Cliffs, And a twisted sea Beating under a freezing moon. Why should I, Sitting peaceful and warm, Cut my heart on so sharp a tune? Liquid lapping of seething fire Eating the heart of an old beech-tree. Crack of icicles under the eaves, Dog-wind whining eerily. The oaks are red, and the asters flame, And the sun is warm on bark and stones. There's a Hunter's Moon abroad tonight- The twigs are snapping like brittle bones. You carry a lantern of rose-green glass, Your dress is red as a Cardinal's cloak. I kneel at the trace of your feet on the grass, But when I would sing you a song, I choke. Choke for the fragile careless years We have scattered so easily from our hands. They flutter like leaves through an Autumn sun, One by one, one by one. I have lived in a place, I shall die in a place, I have no craving for distant lands. But a place is nothing, not even space, Unless at its heart a figure stands Swinging a rose-green lantern for me. I fear the fall of a rose-green gate, And the cry of a cliff-driven, haunted sea, And the crackle of ice while I wait-wait! Your face is flowers and singing sun, Your hands are the cool of waters falling. If the rose-green bars should drop between Would you know that I was calling? For the stars I see in that sky are black. The kind earth holds me and laughs in my ear. I have nothing to do with the planet's track, I only want you, my Dear. Beyond is a glaze, but here is fire, And love to comfort, and speech to bind, And the common things of morning and evening, And the light of your lantern I always find. One or the other-then let it be me, For I fear the whirl of the cliff-wrung sea, And the biting night. You smile at my fears, But the years-years- Like leaves falling. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...FEMALE MASCULINITY by WAYNE KOESTENBAUM THE ASS FESTIVAL by WAYNE KOESTENBAUM THE BOOK OF SCAPEGOATS by WAYNE KOESTENBAUM DOSSIER OF IRRETRIEVABLES by WAYNE KOESTENBAUM THIS ONE'S FOR YOU by JAN HELLER LEVI |
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