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.
Notes
This poem might make an interesting comparison with Yeats's "Lamentation of the Old Pensioner" (revised version).
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This is a personal favorite of mine. I quote it so often it borders on obsession. But it rings so true to my life, all except for the part where boys turn to her at midnight with a cry. I have had no boys turn to me at midnight. But the point rings true: memories are beautiful, but they can also be haunting. Loneliness is painful.
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I thought of Dulcinea, in Man of La Mancha-
"One pair of arms is like another..." The fact that she uses the term, "lads" may indicate that she has not experienced extensive sexual maturity and must reach beyond memory.
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Superb
So gorgeous, so beautiful and so unutterably sad! A brilliant sonnet by past master! I love it! -
Excellent
This poem is really interesting to me. It makes me wonder in what stage of the poet's life it was written. ~Peace~Gar -
Very nice
The poem is, I believe, about the loveless relations, which just come and go in ever one's life leaving no impact on the person's feelings and emotions. The subject of love and the outcomes of the experiences of life in search of love have been described in a very simple and straight manner. The poetess has a very bold expression because every one hasn't got the courage to declare that he/she has spent a life without love, if love is considered in its original meanings. One has to be honest about it I suppose...and she is really a great lady for she has accepted the bitter reality and has also disclosed it for her reader. Great job! -
Petrarchan sonnet with a Elizabethian rhyme scheme.
In my opinion, the speaker is feeling lonely because she had many lovers who's "arms have lain under my head," even though she cannot remember them all. But now she is alone kind of wishing she had that again.
She compares this feeling to a "lonely tree" that knows it's branches are empty now that winter has arrived but knows birds came and went throughout the summer. Just like the "summer" or prime of her life when she had love, but no more. -
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Shakespeare comparison
The image of the tree, almost exactly appears in shakespeare's sonnet 73.
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This poem might make an interesting comparison with Yeats's "Lamentation of the Old Pensioner"
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to me this is a poem about growing older,knowing you will never have sweet passion,now feeling cold ,lonely,but still her memories,like ghosts linger on.
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I saw this was on the Allwrite Valentines page and would like to add my thoughts.
First of all, this is a poem of war. This is just my opinion but I believe that the boys are dying and going because of the war, it is also important to note that it would have been unusual for a woman of her status in her period to have 'lovers' so I'm not sure if she means her own lovers, universal men with universal women or other 'men' (friends, brothers, fathers etc)
There is a lexis of love and the body within this poem- which is similar to Wilfred Owen's poem 'Mental Cases' as well as many others. In this respect it is romantic but also the body connects with warfare.
I think there is a poetic tension here between martial and erotic language, sometimes encompassing (sp?) both at the same time- for example 'with a cry'.
I liked this poem, it had a good use of alliteration. Thanks Allwrite for reccomending this to me and OP for providing it
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