Classic and Contemporary Poetry
ON THE WAY TO CHURCH, by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: There is one I know. I see her sometimes pass Last Line: Nor kneel, god's robber, near that angel face. Subject(s): Deception; Man-woman Relationships; Pain; Women; Male-female Relations; Suffering; Misery | ||||||||
THERE is one I know. I see her sometimes pass In the morning streets upon her way to Mass, A calm sweet woman with unearthly eyes. Men turn to look at her, but ever stop, Reading in those blue depths the death of hope And a wise chastisement for thoughts unwise. Pure is her brow as of a marble Saint. Her brown hair pencils it with ripples faint. There is no shadow on it and no light. Her cheeks are pale like lilies in eclipse. Hardly a little redness on her lips Paints the sad smile where all the rest is white. Tall is she and bent forward like a reed Which the wind toys with as she walks with speed: Girl-like her limbs and virginal her waist. Of the world's wonders there is none so sweet As this, the summer lightning of her feet, Speeding her onward like a fawn in haste. What is her secret? All the world has tried To guess it. One I knew in guessing died And was no wiser for his mortal pain. Each has turned sadder from the thankless quest, And gone back silent, even if he guessed, Knowing all answer would be counted vain. I knew her once. I know her not to-day. Our eyes meet sometimes, but hers turn away Quicker from mine than from the rest that look. Her pale cheek quivers, a flush comes and goes, As in the presence of a soul that knows, And her hands tighten on her missal book. Men have done evil yet have won to Heaven, Lived in blood guiltiness yet died forgiven. May I not, I too, one day win my grace? Ah no. The sacrilege of this worst sin Outweighs all grace. I dare not enter in Nor kneel, God's robber, near that angel face. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...PARTHENOPHIL AND PARTHENOPHE: MADRIGAL 14 by BARNABE BARNES SONNETS IN SHADOWS: 1 by ARLO BATES IN PRAISE OF PAIN by HEATHER MCHUGH THE SYMPATIZERS by JOSEPHINE MILES LEEK STREET by LAURE-ANNE BOSSELAAR ESTHER; A YOUNG MAN'S TRAGEDY: 50 by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT ESTHER; A YOUNG MAN'S TRAGEDY: 51 by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT THE LOVE SONNETS OF PROTEUS: 110. THE OASIS OF SIDI KHALED by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT |
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