Classic and Contemporary Poetry
CLEOPATRA, by ALBERT SAMAIN Poet's Biography First Line: Heavy hung the night by the dark nile Last Line: And under it the mighty desert moved. Subject(s): Bodies; Cleopatra, Queen Of Egypt (69-30 B.c.) | ||||||||
Heavy hung the night by the dark Nile. Cleopatra, kneeling below the burning stars, Struck pale, swept all aside her jemadars, Tore off her robe with a strange, prurient smile And passionately raised on the high plateau Her virgin form, swollen with love like a ripe fruit. Nude, she was vibrant there! Erect below The stars, she writhed, ardent adder, the warm wind's loot. She yearned, and her fierce eyes flamed the lightning free; The world must breathe, tonight, her flesh alone. ... O somber sex-flower that the dark winds proved! And the Sphinx, immobile on the sands of ennui, Felt a swift fire pervade its silent stone, And under it the mighty desert moved. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DISCORDANTS: 3 by CONRAD AIKEN VARIATIONS: 10 by CONRAD AIKEN ORGANIZATION MEN IN AFFLUENT SOCIETY by KENNETH REXROTH ANTONY AND [OR, TO] CLEOPATRA by WILLIAM HAINES LYTLE CLEOPATRA by WILLIAM WETMORE STORY AT DENDERA by AMELIA JOSEPHINE BURR ON THE STATUE OF CLEOPATRA, MADE INTO A FOUNTAIN BY LEO X by BALDASSARRE CASTIGLIONE CLEOPATRA'S SOLILOQUY by MARY BAYARD CLARK |
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