OF all the sweetest could there be
Another who could seem so fair,
Another who could charm despair
Into sweet realms of fantasy,
Another who might love like she?
I wrought the magic of desire
And I have found the joy thereof
Upon the flower-strewn ways of love,
Where never earthly foot may tire;
And further none shall e’er aspire.
The opulence of beauty such
As seeks desire can never cease
From out arch eyes to plead and please;
But we regret who love so much
The many lips we may not touch.
They come, they go, they pass again,
And on each face and in their eyes
New subtle beauties I surprise –
Appealing pity, mute disdain.
And charms which know not what they feign.
They come and go in rainbow-streams,
They pass me by, and watching them
Out of the past I overwhelm
The future while the present seems
A flickering shadow fraught with dreams.
I know her not. Unseen till now,
She smiles with wistful dalliance;
Quick gleaming pleasure and sweet chance
Illume her vision and endow
Her lips and cheeks and pallid brow.
I dream of her divinity;
She knows not, and when she has left,
Forgetting I shall be bereft
Of each dear thought which seems to be
Part of my life and destiny.
She goes, and each that takes her place,
A variant of light love and ease,
A soft note ‘mid deep harmonies,
Leaves in the memory of her face
Dreams her successor shall erase.
I hear the music thrill and swoon
And mingle with the traffic-beat;
Far off, beyond the livid street,
Above the glare, the tardy moon
Mocks the long tedious afternoon.
(E J Rupert Atkinson)
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Based on Topics: Love Poems, Light Poems, Joy & Excitement Poems, Fairness Poems, Dreams Poems, Place Poems, Beauty Poems, Fate & Destiny Poems, Past Poems, Music Poems, Memory PoemsBased on Keywords: successor, dalliance, opulence, variant, flower-strewn