[…] but the rainIs full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sighUpon the glass and listen for reply; — Edna St. Vincent Millay, from [What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why] “Sonnet XLIII,’ Selected Poems. (HarpPeren July 10, 1981) Originally published 1956.
VII When I Too Long Have Looked Upon Your Face When I too long have looked upon your face,Wherein for me a brightness unobscuredSave by the mists of brightness has its place,And terrible beauty not to be endured,I turn away reluctant from your light,And stand irresolute, a mind undone,A silly, dazzled thing deprived of sightFrom… Continue reading Edna St. Vincent Millay
Death devours all lovely things:Lesbia with her sparrowShares the darkness – presentlyEvery bed is narrow. Unremembered as old rainDries the sheer libation;And the little petulant handIs an annotation. After all, my erstwhile dear,My no longer cherished,Need we say it was not love,Just because it perished? — Edna St. Vincent Millay, “Passer Mortuus Est,” Second April.… Continue reading Edna St. Vincent Millay
I shall forget you presently, my dear,So make the most of this, your little day,Your little month, your little half a year, — Edna St. Vincent Millay, from “I shall forget you presently, my dear,” The Selected Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay (Modern Library, 2001)
I know what my heart is like Since your love died: It is like a hollow ledge Holding a little pool Left there by the tide, A little tepid pool, Drying inward from the edge. — Edna St. Vincent Millay, “Ebb,” Collected Poems. (Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Second Addition edition March 8,… Continue reading Edna St. Vincent Millay
Parrots, tortoises and redwoods live a longer life than men do; Men a longer life than dogs do; Dogs a longer life than love does. ― Edna St. Vincent Millay, Edna St. Vincent Millay: Poems. (Everyman’s Library; Reprint edition, March 2, 2010) Originally published January 1st 1923.
The Vale of Soul-Making 