Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ANDANTE PASSIONALE, by ALEXANDER JAVIS


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ANDANTE PASSIONALE, by                    
First Line: Listen, o my city! O my beloved!
Last Line: O my city! O my beloved! I have made for you— this—my song!
Subject(s): Hearts; Love; Man-woman Relationships; Passion; Male-female Relations


Listen, O my City! O my Beloved!
On a flute that I have stolen from the Halls of Krishna,
On the cymbals of ancient threnody,
I shall sing you this—my song:

My City is a daughter of the kings of ancient kingdoms.
In the swift dawning of a startled day I have seen her;
Jewelled with diadems of beaten metal and rude barbaric stones,
Scented of rose and myrrh,
Perfect in the softness and the slimness of her beauty. ...
I have sat at her feet for eternities,
And have listened to her singing—low-voiced—impassioned—
(White breasts gleaming through a purple haze!)

My City is a leprous hag,
Cankerous and sore of body,
Mumbling a wanton song
At the dying of men and women,
Leering and grinning in the murky miasmas of morning. ...
I have sat in her shadows for ages,
Weeping as she chanted her orisons of Fate—
(Black breasts swaying through a dull-white mist!)

O my City! O my Beloved! I have made for you— this—my song!





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