La Figlia Che Piange (The Weeping Girl)

Stand on the highest pavement of the stair —
Lean on a garden urn —
Weave, weave the sunlight in your hair —
Clasp your flowers to you with a pained surprise —
Fling them to the ground and turn
With a fugitive resentment in your eyes:
But weave, weave the sunlight in your hair.

So I would have had him leave,
So I would have had her stand and grieve,
So he would have left
As the soul leaves the body torn and bruised,
As the mind deserts the body it has used.
I should find
Some way incomparably light and deft,
Some way we both should understand,
Simple and faithless as a smile and a shake of the hand.

She turned away, but with the autumn weather
Compelled my imagination many days,
Many days and many hours:
Her hair over her arms and her arms full of flowers.
And I wonder how they should have been together!
I should have lost a gesture and a pose.
Sometimes these cogitations still amaze
The troubled midnight, and the noon's repose.

Along with Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot helped create modern free verse. This poem demonstrates his his remarkable talents. While Eliot was a sophisticated, urbane poet, his main theme was human love, and he often comes across as a somewhat "nerdy," disillusioned romantic.

by T. S. Eliot

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Non sum qualis eram bonae sub regno Cynarae

"I am not as I was under the reign of the good Cynara"—Horace

Last night, ah, yesternight, betwixt her lips and mine
There fell thy shadow, Cynara! thy breath was shed
Upon my soul between the kisses and the wine;
And I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
Yea, I was desolate and bowed my head:
I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.

All night upon mine heart I felt her warm heart beat,
Night-long within mine arms in love and sleep she lay;
Surely the kisses of her bought red mouth were sweet;
But I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
When I awoke and found the dawn was gray:
I have been faithful to you, Cynara! in my fashion.

I have forgot much, Cynara! gone with the wind,
Flung roses, roses riotously with the throng,
Dancing, to put thy pale, lost lilies out of mind;
But I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
Yea, all the time, because the dance was long;
I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.

I cried for madder music and for stronger wine,
But when the feast is finished and the lamps expire,
Then falls thy shadow, Cynara! the night is thine;
And I am desolate and sick of an old passion,
Yea, hungry for the lips of my desire:
I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.

Ernest Dowson's influence on T. S. Eliot is obvious, and anyone who reads his best poems can easily understand the attraction. Other writers unabashedly "borrowed" phrases from Dowson: "gone with the wind," "the days of wine and roses," "hollow lands," etc. The best poets write memorable lines, and Dowson's best poems are full of memorable lines. Several of his poems can be found on the Masters page of The HyperTexts.

by Ernest Dowson

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Wulf and Eadwacer (Anonymous Ballad, circa 960-990 AD)

The out lander pursue him as if he were game.
They will kill him if he comes in force.
It is otherwise with us.

Wulf is on one island; I, on another.
That island is fast, surrounded by fens.
There are fierce men on this island.
They will kill him if he comes in force.
It is otherwise with us.

My thoughts pursued Wulf like a panting hound.
Whenever it rained and I woke, disconsolate,
the bold warrior came: he took me in his arms.
For me, there was pleasure, but its end was loathsome.
Wulf, O, my Wulf, my ache for you
has made me sick; your infrequent visits
have left me famished, but why should I eat?
Do you hear, Eadwacer? A she-wolf has borne
our wretched whelp to the woods.
One can easily sunder what never was one:
our song together.

"Wulf and Eadwacer" has been one of my favorite poems since the first time I read it. In fact, I liked the poem so much that I ended up translating it myself. This is one of the oldest poems in the English language, and quite possibly the first extant English poem by a female poet. It is also one of the first English poems to employ a refrain. The poem's closing metaphor of a loveless relationship being like a song in which two voices never harmonized remains one of the strongest in any language, regardless of era.

Loose Translation by Michael R. Burch

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Earn Mentari Shared Ambition

Evening sky began to dim

replaced during the night ends

with all the decorations

in space

illuminate the earth

Pieces of memories of the past

of a failure ending disappointment

seeds are not desperate

in tomorrow and the day after tomorrow

with the new sun

Moon star consort

eliminate doubts

of a desperate hope

echoing the prayer

open road

tergapai all ideals

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Roses in the Morning

O roses

Your bud has bloomed

while welcoming the dawn

attractive way to spread the fragrance

beautiful enchanting

O roses

Your bud has bloomed

when the sun memnampakkan self-tuk start the day

fragrant smell throughout the park

Be at peace flavors

O roses

Will you still blooming florets

when this sense of want in the next day

want to kiss you again fragrance

segarlah all time

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From the Love

From within you

if you're willing and able

Paint a smile on your lips

because it's beautiful

like a morning sun that gives fun day

the evening sky like a farewell menghdirkan tranquility and space with the moon shined

for the view

From within you

if you're willing and able

rangkailah wise word in your sentence each

because it's beautiful

like singing birds flying in between the branches

like a chant of insects filling the night garden

for the hearing

From within you

if you're willing and able

eratkanlah fellow at heart

because it's beautiful

like a rope unifying

like a footbridge connecting

for a ukhuwah

From within you

if you're willing and able

see the expanse of the universe

because it's beautiful

when combined with the roar of the waves clouds

in nature as a unified body of the diversity

for those who think

From within you

if you're willing and able

united real intentions and words in

because it's beautiful

when a line of oral care

if the liver acts as

for those who feel

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Talk to the earth

When it was his time

the earth will speak

On the back you ran

you back into my belly

In me you walk in the pleasure

you fall on my stomach in distress

On the back you laugh

in sorrow thou my stomach

In me thou eat the forbidden

you have a meal in my stomach

When the time comes

the earth will speak

On the back you walk in pride

humiliated you in my stomach

In me thou in common

in my stomach you in solitude

On the back you are bathed in light

in my stomach you in darkness

In me thou rebellious

tormented thee in my stomach

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When Arriving Time Separated

Under the shade of a blue sky with all the beautiful jewelry incomparable

On a bed of earth with all his paintings are long stretches

Still I get and I feel

Outpouring of grace and various ni'mat

Frequently you provide

But when it's time away

It appropriate self kumemohon

Without a drop in the ocean thanksgiving grace

At noon with the swing steps foot kulangkahkan friend

On the day I closed my eyes even with people I love

Still I get and I feel

Crowd ambience and tranquility of the soul

But when it's time away

Would kupergi alone

Without a shadow of those who will accompany

When I went through the dusty streets are always fouled me

When I fill the days with everything that is meaningless

Can still self kumenghibur

My body's clean and do better tomorrow

Without a pang of doubt

But when it's time away

Are there still a chance for me

Tuk cleanse the soul and heart

Every failure brings disappointment

Any regrets the fact that present

Still I heard and felt

Voices entertain

Tuk remove any disappointment and regret

But when it's time away

Is there anything that would comfort me

Will I go without disappointment and regret

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