Old loveliness has such a way with me, That I am close to tears when petals fall And needs must hide my face behind a wall, When autumn trees burn red with ecstasy. For I am haunted by a hundred things And more than I have seen in April days; I have worn stars above my head in praise, I have worn beauty as two costly rings. Alas, how short a state does beauty keep, Then let me clasp it wildly to my heart And hurt myself until I am a part Of all its rapture, then turn back to sleep, Remembering through all the dusty years What sudden wonder brought me close to tears. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A TIME TO DANCE by CECIL DAY LEWIS TAPS by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE LONESOME CHILD by KATHERINE MANSFIELD |