Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, DIALOGUE, by RACHEL ANNAND TAYLOR


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

DIALOGUE, by             Poet's Biography
First Line: Ghost without: dost thou remember?
Last Line: God, how I remember!
Subject(s): Kisses; Love; Memory


I.

Ghost Without: Dost thou remember?
Thy window-pane is lit;
What music under it
Stings thro' the wind and rain?

She Within: Oh! Clad in cloth-of-gold,
Crowned like a queen of old,
Have I to do with pain?
Why should I remember?

II.

Ghost: Dost thou remember?
For it is All Souls' Eve,
Poor soul that could not cleave,
Poor craven Convertite.—

She: Ah! Here the Bridegroom's kiss,
Perfume of ambergris,
Braziers of silver light!
Why should I remember?

III.

Ghost: Dost thou remember
No colour of the Past?—

She: Its beauty hath me fast.
Beneath mine eyes quaint kohl,
Far sound of silver bells
Within my voice of spells,
Faint sweetness in my soul,
It is. Do I remember?

IV.

Ghost: Dost thou remember
The love, the pain, the sin?—

She: O far-off violin,
Spare now to vex and pierce.
What epithalamies
Of mockery are these?
His eyes are kind as tears.
I will not remember!

V.

Ghost: Dost thou remember
The long strange kisses given
Beneath a rose-pale heaven?—

She: My mouth is purple yet,
Like to a grape new-pressed,
A wound upon the breast.—
How then may I forget?
And so I must remember!

VI.

Ghost: Dost thou remember
The glory and the guilt,
The magic moonlight spilt
Between the aspens wet?—

She: Out to the rain and wind
I come, for I can find
No place where to forget.
God, how I remember!





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