Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, FROM BELOW, by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

FROM BELOW, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: In the dim summer night they were leaning alone
Last Line: Where he dropped his cigar in the street.
Alternate Author Name(s): Johnson Of Boone, Benj. F.
Subject(s): Night; Opera; Summer; Bedtime


IN the dim summer night they were leaning alone
From the balcony over the walk;
He, careless enough, one had guessed by the tone
Of his voice and his murmurous talk;
And she -- well, her laugh flowed as sweet to the breeze
As the voice of the faint violin
That ran, with a ripple of ivory keys,
Through the opera warbled within.

. . . . . . .

In the odorous locust-boughs trailed o'er the eaves,
The nightingale paused in his tune,
And the mute katydid hid away in the leaves
That were turned from the smile of the moon:
And the man sat alone, with his fingers clenched tight
O'er a heart that had failed in its beat,
While the passers-by saw but a spatter of light
Where he dropped his cigar in the street.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net