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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
IN A MUSIC-HALL: 5. SELENE EDEN, by JOHN DAVIDSON Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: My dearest lovers know me not Last Line: That is my conquering mystery | |||
My dearest lovers know me not; I hide my life and soul from sight; I conquer all whose blood is hot; My mystery is my mail of might. I had a troupe who danced with me: I veiled myself from head to foot; My girls were nude as they dared be; They sang a chorus, I was mute. But now I fill the widest stage Alone, unveiled, without a song; And still with mystery I engage The aching senses of the throng. A dark-blue vest with stars of gold, My only diamond in my hair, An Indian scarf about me rolled: That is the dress I always wear. And first the sensuous music whets The lustful crowd; the dim-lit room Recalls delights, recalls regrets; And then I enter in the gloom. I glide, I trip, I run, I spin, Lapped in the lime-light's aureole. Hushed are the voices, hushed the din, I see men's eyes like glowing coal. My loosened scarf in odours drenched Showers keener hints of sensual bliss; The music swoons, the light is quenched, Into the dark I blow a kiss. Then, like a long wave rolling home, The music gathers speed and sound; I , dancing, am the music's foam, And wilder, fleeter, higher bound, And fling my feet above my head; The light grows, none aside may glance; Crimson and amber, green and red, In blinding baths of these I dance. And soft, and sweet, and calm, my face Looks pure as unsunned chastity, Even in the whirling triple pace: That is my conquering mystery. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A NORTHERN SUBURB by JOHN DAVIDSON A RUNNABLE STAG by JOHN DAVIDSON HOLIDAY AT HAMPTON COURT by JOHN DAVIDSON IN ROMNEY MARSH by JOHN DAVIDSON THIRTY BOB A WEEK by JOHN DAVIDSON A BALLAD IN BLANK VERSE by JOHN DAVIDSON A BALLAD OF A COWARD by JOHN DAVIDSON A BALLAD OF A NUN by JOHN DAVIDSON A BALLAD OF A WORKMAN by JOHN DAVIDSON |
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