 | The poems and sonnets of Louise Chandler Moulton |  |
294
IN EXTREMIS.
How can I go into the dark,
Away from your clasping hand,
Set sail on a shadowy bark
For the shore of an unknown land?
Away from your clasping hand,
Set sail on a shadowy bark
For the shore of an unknown land?
Your eyes look love into mine;
Your lips are warm on my mouth;
I drink your breath like a wine
Aglow with the sun of the South.
Your lips are warm on my mouth;
I drink your breath like a wine
Aglow with the sun of the South.
You have made this world so dear!
How can I go forth alone
In the bark that phantoms steer
To a port afar and unknown?
How can I go forth alone
In the bark that phantoms steer
To a port afar and unknown?
The desperate mob of the dead,
Will they hustle me to and fro,
Or leave me alone to tread
The path of my infinite woe?
Will they hustle me to and fro,
Or leave me alone to tread
The path of my infinite woe?
Shall I cry, in terror and pain,
For a death that I cannot die,
And pray with a longing vain
To the gods that mock my cry?
For a death that I cannot die,
And pray with a longing vain
To the gods that mock my cry?
295
Oh, hold me closer, my dear!
Strong is your clasp,—ay, strong,—
But stronger the touch that I fear,
And the darkness to come is long.
Strong is your clasp,—ay, strong,—
But stronger the touch that I fear,
And the darkness to come is long.
| The poems and sonnets of Louise Chandler Moulton | |