"O ye, all ye that walk in Willowwood." (D.G. Rossetti)
Two gazed into a pool, he gazed and she,
Not hand in hand, yet heart in heart, I think,
Pale and reluctant on the water's brink,
As on the brink of parting which must be.
Each eyed the other's aspect, she and he,
Each felt one hungering heart leap up and sink,
Each tasted bitterness which both must drink,
There on the brink of life's dividing sea.
Lilies upon the surface, deep below
Two wistful faces craving each for each,
Resolute and reluctant without speech: —
A sudden ripple made the faces flow
One moment joined, to vanish out of reach:
So those hearts joined, and ah! were parted so.
illus by Charles Ricketts 1890
This is so lovely. I wonder if he was influenced by Donne's The Good-Morrow? It reminds me of it a bit.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that poem - must look.
ReplyDelete