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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
LIFE LOOKS ON DEATH, by ESTHER RUSSELL
First Line: Tonight I sit alone with my dead love
Last Line: In fright that wondrous life should lose itself.
Subject(s): Death; Life; Love - Loss Of; Mourning; Dead, The; Bereavement
First Line: Tonight I sit alone with my dead love
Last Line: In fright that wondrous life should lose itself.
Subject(s): Death; Life; Love - Loss Of; Mourning; Dead, The; Bereavement
Tonight I sit alone with my dead love
To tempt her peaceful sleep with dreams of life—
Can these deaf ears be closed to cries of strife?
Can these blind eyes be dark to stars above?
These lips, that sounded on the Pipes of Pan,
Will they not ever breathe another song?
These mobile limbs, that once so fleetly ran,
Will they not bear thy winged soul along?
Ah, Love, thy leaving thus doth bring a cry,
I shed hot tears upon thy cold, pale face—
So sweet to live, and, oh, so soon to die—
My tortured soul beholds thee, calm with grace. ....
And one rose quivers on the mantle shelf
In fright that wondrous life should lose itself.
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