Absence

Charlotte Mary Mew 1869 (Bloomsbury, London) – 1928 (London)



Sometimes I know the way
You walk, up over the bay;
It is a wind from that far sea
That blows the fragrance of your hair to me.

Or in this garden when the breeze
Touches my trees
To stir their dreaming shadows on the grass
I see you pass.

In sheltered beds, the heart of every rose
Serenely sleeps to-night. As shut as those
Your garded heart; as safe as they fomr the beat, beat
Of hooves that tread dropped roses in the street.

Turn never again
On these eyes blind with a wild rain
Your eyes; they were stars to me.--
There are things stars may not see.

But call, call, and though Christ stands
Still with scarred hands
Over my mouth, I must answer. So
I will come--He shall let me go!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 21, 2023

41 sec read
35

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABB CCDD EEFF XXBB GGHH
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 680
Words 138
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Charlotte Mary Mew

Charlotte Mary Mew was an English poet whose work spans the eras of Victorian poetry and Modernism.  more…

All Charlotte Mary Mew poems | Charlotte Mary Mew Books

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