Sunday, April 16, 2006

One of my favorite poems ever by my hands-down favorite poet ever:

Memorial to DC.
by Edna St. Vincent Millay

O, loveliest throat of all sweet throats
where now no more the music is,
with hands that wrote you little notes
I write you little elegies!

Epitaph
Heap not on this mound
Roses that she loved so well;
Why bewilder her with roses,
that she cannot see or smell?

She is happy where she lies
with the dust upon her eyes.

Prayer
Be to her, Persephone,
All the things I might not be;
Take her head upon your knee
She that was so proud and wild
flippant, arrogant, and free,
She that had no need of me,
is a little lonely child
lost in Hell,--Persephone
Take her head upon your knee
Say to her "My dear, my dear,
it is not so dreadful here."

Chorus
Give away her gowns
Give away her shoes
She has no more use
for her fragrant gowns
take them all down
blue, green, blue
lilac, pink, blue
from their padded hangers
she will dance no more
in her narrow shoes
sweep her narrow shoes
from the closet floor.

Elegy
Let them bury your big eyes
In the secret earth securely
Your thin fingers and your fair,
soft, indefinite -coloured hair,--
All of these in some way, surely,
From the secret earth shall rise;
Not for these I sit and stare,
broken and bereft completely;
Your young flesh that sat so neatly
on your little bones will sweetly
blossom in the air.

But your voice... never the rushing
of a river underground
not the rising of the wind
in the trees before the rain,
not the woodcock's watery call,
nor the note the white-throat utters,
not the feet of children pushing
yellow leaves along the gutters
in the blue and bitter fall,
shall content my musing mind.
For the beauty of that sound
That in no new way at all
ever will be hear again.

Sweetly through the sappy stalk
of the vigorous weed
Holding all it held before,
Cherished by the faithful sun,
on and on eternally
shall your altered fluid run,
bud, and bloom, and go to seed:
but your singing days are done!
but the music of your talk
never shall the chemistry
of the secret earth restore
all your lovely words are spoken
once the ivory box is broken
Beats the golden bird no more.

Dirge
Boys and girls that held her dear,
Do your weeping now;
All you loved of her lies here.

Brought to earth the arrogant brow,
and the withering tongue
Chastened; do your weeping now.

Sing whatever songs are song
Wind whatever wreath
for a playmate perished young
for a spirit spent in death.

Boys and girls that held her dear
all you loved of her lies here.


2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow! That's good shit if I do say so myself.

4/18/2006 03:56:00 PM  
Blogger Swales said...

There certainly is a reason that good Edna is remembered today.

4/19/2006 06:35:00 PM  

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