THOU art my love
And thou art the peace of sundown
When the blue shadows soothe
And the grasses and the leaves sleep
To the song of the little brooks
Woe is me.
Thou art my love,
And thou art a storm
That breaks black in the sky
And, sweeping headlong,
Drenches and cowers each tree
And at the panting end
There is no sound
Save the melancholy cry of a single owl
Woe is me!
Thou art my love
And thou art a tinsel thing
And I in my play
Broke thee easily
And from the little fragments
Arose my long sorrow
Woe is me.
Thou art my love
And thou art a weary violet
Drooping from sun-caresses.
Answering mine carelessly
Woe is me.
Thou art my love
And thou art the ashes of other men's love
And I bury my face in these ashes
And I love them
Woe is me.
Thou art my love
And thou art the beard
On another man's face
Woe is me.
Thou art my love
And thou art a temple
And in this temple is an altar
And on this altar is my heart
Woe is me.
Thou art my love
And thou art a wretch.
Let these sacred love-lies choke thee
For I am come to where I know your lies as truth
And your truth as lies
Woe is me.
Thou art my love
And thou art a priestess
And in thy hand is a bloody dagger
And my doom comes to me surely
Woe is me.
Thou art my love
And thou art a skull with ruby eyes
And I love thee
Woe is me.
Thou art my love
And I doubt thee
And if peace came with my murder
Then would I murder
Woe is me.
Thou art my love
And thou art death
Aye, thou art death
Black and yet black
But I love thee
I love thee
Woe, welcome woe, to me.
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Comments
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lovely!
I really liked this piece... it's deep and loving, but so contradicting of itself!
This stanza reminded me a lot of Shakespeare's Othello:
Thou art my love
And I doubt thee
And if peace came with my murder
Then would I murder
Woe is me. -
Thou art a wonderful poet whose lyric beauty beguiles and charms. Words are spun in naked thought until we are all trapped in his love.
David -
excellent
This poem is deep enough thou it seems very simple . The repetition of woo!!! its me has marked the beauty of each stanza. Love is where woo!!! it me . excellent!!!! -
what works in this poem, for me, is the way it careens... from its slow, melodramatic beginnings, it snowballs into darker depths, as the increasing brevity of the stanzas hastens the pace.
Its a little broad for me though... personally...
The arc of emotion is rather wide, and I get lost in the transition
maybe I just need to grow into an understanding of Crane's stylistic choices. -
I'm going to tread on a few toes here, because I really didn't like this piece. The repetition made the bold statements of love lose their impact, and those that were made weren't particularly compelling IMHO.
Still, who am I to argue with a classic? -
eh
At first thoughts reading this were, "Why do you love something that brings you pain and lust for death?" till the last stanza reveals the love is for death, not a person. Show's love pretty well, but it's not romantic to me. It's kinda sad. Life gives you the oppertunity to love, so why love something that can take that ability away? Or if the person is just in love with being sad, not death, then the poem shows me this isn't real love it's more a sadistic version of the feeling. Love should be a happy uplifting healing feeling, not the opposite. -
rather lengthy, but it was ok. i've read better, read worse.
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*shocked beyond belief*, wow that was amazing, simply stunning, i did think that the repition was a great tool in gettin his message across although lord knows he did not have too much trouble doing so, i loved it when he wrote "woe, welcome woe, to me" not only was this heart-wrenchingly powerful, his noot repeating that line, but altering it, made it even more effective
i loved it, abolutley loved it -
Magnificent
He lived for her, his only true love, and would gladly die for her. A powerful and heart wrenching piece of poetry. -
I really liked this poem!!! especially this part
Thou art my love
And thou art death
Aye, thou art death
Black and yet black
But I love thee
I love thee
Woe, welcome woe, to me. -
This piece is full of life and love.
His love is his everything, and she too is everything around him.
He sees her, smells her, tastes her and lives her.
WSD -
ohh , now where has this guy been? after all my years in college, i never read this one before. this is a treat!
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The beautiful thing about this poem is it's startling directness. As the poem and, it seems, the woman grow harsher and harsher, the love seems to grow in intensity. A wonderful piece by Crane.
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A beautiful poem. I like the way that he uses repititous phrases to make it that much stronger. It is a truly beautiful piece.
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A powerful poem from Stehen Crane. His love shows through for his love. Great work he did. Splendid writing.
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thank you, blessed angel who posted this poem! i do not think we need argue over the power and grit of this work....
Thou art my love
And thou art the ashes of other men's love
And I bury my face in these ashes
And I love them
Woe is me.
Thou art my love
And thou art the beard
On another man's face
Woe is me.
look at these lines...what dumbfounding irony! good grief! what blasted simplicity - what truth which we cold cowards are afraid to speak! this man's heart is in this work. anyone want more of this stuff? are u hungry for the heartsblood..not just some simpering piece that will satisfy our hypocracy - then read And You Love Me, by Steph Crane. I am friends with them who will accept this bold, black stuff. I am friends with the man who will not shrink when he reads this.
Edited on Nov 28, 3:05 p.m. because ''. -
Entrancing
I read it and then read it again... Words like these remind me that it is not a heart breaking that we curse to the ends but a heart that refuses to stop loving, no matter the cost... Makes me wish to feel my heart pound and my blood pulse in yearning for my love again... like when you first 'fall' to the point of no return... -
Wow - I see what you mean 'philophant' . the second stanza made me sit up straight - the power of the words - incredible. I shall add this to the Poem of the Day list. worthwhile reading.
~Von~ -
Crane...would you were alive...I have a crush on your bigtime.... "woe is me"....is anyone out there who would like to throw their eye over something so deathly simple, so damned easy, yet so deeply true? read this... it drew me in like the "sunlight drinketh dew"
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