[…] 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 be gone to what I understand,And happier than I ever was before.The love that stood a moment in your eyes,The words that lay a moment on your tongue,Are one with all that in a moment dies,A little under-said and over-sung.But I shall find the sullen rocks and skiesUnchanged from what they were when… 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)
They say when you are missing someone that they are probably feeling the same, but I don’t think it’s possible for you to miss me as much as I’m missing you right now, ― Edna St. Vincent Millay
That is what I want of you–out of sight & sound of other people, to lie close to you and let the world rush by. To watch with you suns rising and moons risings in that purple edge outside most people’s vision… — Edna St. Vincent Millay, from a letter to Arthur Davison Ficke
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.
When the Year Grows Old I cannot but remember When the year grows old—October—November— How she disliked the cold! She used to watch the swallows Go down across the sky,And turn from the window With a little sharp sigh. And often when the brown leaves Were brittle on the ground,And the wind in the chimney … Continue reading Edna St. Vincent Millay
The Vale of Soul-Making 