Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, VENUS VERTICORDIA, by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

VENUS VERTICORDIA, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: She hath the apple in her hand for thee
Last Line: And through her dark grove strike the light of troy.
Alternate Author Name(s): Rossetti, Gabriel Charles Dante
Variant Title(s): Venus (for A Picture)
Subject(s): Mythology - Classical; Paintings And Painters; Venus (goddess)


(For a Picture)

SHE hath the apple in her hand for thee,
Yet almost in her heart would hold it back;
She muses, with her eyes upon the track
Of that which in thy spirit they can see.
Haply, 'Behold, he is at peace,' saith she;
'Alas! the apple for his lips,--the dart
That follows its brief sweetness to his heart,--
The wandering of his feet perpetually!'

A little space her glance is still and coy;
But if she give the fruit that works her spell,
Those eyes shall flame as for her Phrygian boy.
Then shall her bird's strained throat the woe foretell,
And her far seas moan as a single shell,
And through her dark grove strike the light of Troy.





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