Classic and Contemporary Poetry
CHESTNUT VENDOR, ROME, by ELIOT KAYS STONE First Line: So old, she seems, the ages drape her form Last Line: I glimpse that country in her faded eyes. Subject(s): Old Age; Roman Empire; Women | ||||||||
So old, she seems, the ages drape her form, And press upon her all their weight of hours, I think of her as withered when the storm Thundered on Troy and toppled all its towers; As old, when Tyre and Sidon still were young, And Babylon a tale unprophesied; When terraced Tower of Babel was upflung, And Adam cast out Lilith as his bride: And yet the ages she has made her own She sowed and garnered in a few brief years; She was not born to walk her ways alone, But gulped deep draughts of love ... and laughed through tears. She needs not storm Death's Gate to Paradise -- I glimpse that country in her faded eyes. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ARISTOTLE TO PHYLLIS by JOHN HOLLANDER A WOMAN'S DELUSION by SUSAN HOWE JULIA TUTWILER STATE PRISON FOR WOMEN by ANDREW HUDGINS THE WOMEN ON CYTHAERON by ROBINSON JEFFERS TOMORROW by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD LADIES FOR DINNER, SAIPAN by KENNETH KOCH GOODBYE TO TOLERANCE by DENISE LEVERTOV |
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