Three by Dowson

Three poems by Ernest Dowson.

My Lady April

Dew on her robe and on her tangled hair;
   Twin dewdrops for her eyes; behold her pass,
   With dainty step brushing the young, green grass,
The while she trills some high, fantastic air,
Full of all feathered sweetness: she is fair,
   And all her flower-like beauty, as a glass,
   Mirrors out hope and love: and still, alas!
Traces of tears her languid lashes wear.

Say, doth she weep for very wantonness?
   Or is it that she dimly doth foresee
Across her youth the joys grow less and less,
   The burden of the days that are to be:
   Autumn and withered leaves and vanity,
And winter bringing end in barrenness.

(from "Verses")

April Love

We have walked in Love's land a little way,
   We have learnt his lesson a little while,
And shall we not part at the end of day,
      With a sigh, a smile?

A little while in the shine of the sun,
   We were twined together, joined lips, forgot
How the shadows fall when the day is done,
      And when Love is not.

We have made no vows—there will none be broke,
   Our love was free as the wind on the hill,
There was no word said we need wish unspoke,
      We have wrought no ill.

So shall we not part at the end of day,
   Who have loved and lingered a little while,
Join lips for the last time, go our way,
      With a sigh, a smile?

(from "Verses")

In Spring

See how the trees and the osiers lithe
Are green bedecked and the woods are blithe,
The meadows have donned their cape of flowers,
The air is soft with the sweet May showers,
And the birds make melody:
But the spring of the soul, the spring of the soul,
Cometh no more for you or for me.

The lazy hum of the busy bees
Murmureth through the almond trees;
The jonquil flaunteth a gay, blonde head,
The primrose peeps from a mossy bed,
And the violets scent the lane.
But the flowers of the soul, the flowers of the soul,
For you and for me bloom never again.

(from "Decorations")

The Poems of Ernest Dowson (1900), pp. 9, 38, 165. The book is on line here.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Sun. 04/25/04 07:42:12 AM
Categorized as Sunday Poetry Series.