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Edna St. Vincent Millay: What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why (Sonnet XLIII)
What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why,
I have forgotten, and what arms have lain
Under my head till morning; but the rain
Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh
Upon the glass and listen for reply,
And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain
For unremembered lads that not again
Will turn to me at midnight with a cry.
Thus in winter stands the lonely tree,
Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one,
Yet knows its boughs more silent than before:
I cannot say what loves have come and gone,
I only know that summer sang in me
A little while, that in me sings no more.
—
Public Domain
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This entry was posted on February 14, 2018 by Vox Populi in Most Popular, Opinion Leaders, Poetry and tagged Edna St. Vincent Millay, love poems, sonnet, What lips my lips have kissed and where and why (Sonnet XLIII).Shortlink
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I am a longtime Millay fan who now writes quite a few “American sonnets” — which are much more lenient as to meter and rhyme. Every time I read one of Millay’s sonnets aloud, and slowly, I am in awe: they are so smooth and easy. Thank you for this one.
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When I was young, I wrote many sonnets, none of them very good, I’m afraid, but I am aware of the challenges of the form, and no one, at least no American, uses the form as well as Millay.
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Reblogged this on Memories Before The Menopause.
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My candle burns at both ends; it will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends – it gives a lovely light!
ESVM
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Thank you! I love this poem. First Fig, right?
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Dorothy Parker.be damned, she was the original bad girl.
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