Dirge Without Musicby Edna St. Vincent Millay
I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground.
So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind:
Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely. Crowned
With lilies and with laurel they go; but I am not resigned.
Lovers and thinkers, into the earth with you.
Be one with the dull, the indiscriminate dust.
A fragment of what you felt, of what you knew,
A formula, a phrase remains, --- but the best is lost.
The answers quick & keen, the honest look, the laughter, the love,
They are gone. They have gone to feed the roses. Elegant and curled
Is the blossom. Fragrant is the blossom. I know. But I do not approve.
More precious was the light in your eyes than all the roses in the world.
Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave
Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;
Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.
6 comments:
A beautiful poem... the wise and the lovely... lovers and thinkers... sad and resigned. roxanne
Glad you like it Roxanne.
I do not approve but I'm probably resigned. What else can one be? Why do you think Edna St. Vincent Millay is not resigned? Is it that she believes that death is not the end?
"A fragment of what you felt, of what you knew, A formula, a phrase remains.."
The formula in particular made me stop and think. We all seem to repeat the same formula at the graveside. A few word fragments to formula.
This is the most amazing poem! It's making my brain tick over. Thanks Thinker.
Glad you like it Robyn, it really is an amazing poem.
Thank you for this very lovely poem!
Glad you like it BlackAndWhite!
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