We have found our peace, and move with a turning globe;
the night is all about us, the lovers’ robe.
Mortal my love, my strength: your beauty their wound.
Strip quickly darling, your fingers be the wind
undressing a snowy peak to the sun’s love,
scatter your clouds, be Everest, O my Eve.
These lines describe a passionate and intimate moment between two lovers. The speaker expresses a sense of peace and connection, as he and his beloved moves together in harmony with the turning globe. The night surrounds them, symbolizing a space of intimacy and secrecy. The speaker addresses his beloved, referring to her as mortal, expressing the power and strength they find in their love. The imagery of stripping quickly suggests a desire for vulnerability and openness. The comparison of the beloved’s fingers to the wind undressing a snowy peak highlights their ability to bring pleasure and reveal the beauty within. The speaker encourages his beloved to let go of inhibitions, to scatter their metaphorical clouds and become like Everest, a majestic and awe-inspiring presence.
Leap on the bed, lie still, your body truth become dream
torturing my arms before their kingdom come.
Give the wise their negations, the moralists their maps;
our empire the moment, the geometer’s point where all shapes
of delight are hidden as joy sleeps in the vine.
I tell you again, what the poor have always known,
that this is all the heaven we shall ever find
in all our footsore and fatal journey and beyond,
and we shall never have enough to keep out foul weather,
or to eke out age, will perish forgetful of each other,
yet breeding saints or subduing Asia set against this
were violating our lives with littleness.
These lines suggest that the speaker finds true and profound meaning in the intimate moments shared with his beloved. He expresses a belief that the joy and pleasure experienced in these moments surpass any intellectual or moralistic pursuits. The speaker acknowledges the impermanence of life and the inevitability of hardship, but finds solace in the connection he shares with his beloved. They reject the notion that material possessions or worldly achievements can compare to the richness of their love.
Now at the brink of being, in our pride of blood
let us remember lost lovers, think of the dead
who have no power, who aching in earth lie,
the million bones, white longings in the night of eternity.
O love, how many of our faith have fallen!
Endless the torrent of time, endless and swollen
with tributaries from the broken veins of lovers.
I kiss you in remembrance of all true believers.
These lines highlight the fleeting nature of life and the inevitability of death. The speaker reflects on lost lovers and the deceased, acknowledging their powerlessness and the longing they may still hold in the eternal night. He expresses sadness over the many faithful individuals who have passed away, emphasizing the continuous passage of time and the countless stories of love that have been lost. The speaker concludes by kissing his beloved as a way of honoring and remembering all those who have truly believed in love.
Midnight thoughts. Dark garlands to adorn your flesh
so it shine like snow, like fire. Flakes of ash
blowing from doom’s far hill. Such wisps of terror
gazed at too long even in your body’s mirror
would disrupt our continent, drain our seas,
bring all to nothing. Love, let us laugh and kiss,
only your lips but not with speech can tell
moving in the darkness what is unspeakable,
and though your eyes reflect spring’s green and yellow like a pool
I cannot see them, can only guess at what is more beautiful
than home at last, than a child’s sleep, more full of pity
and gentleness than snow falling on a burning city.
These lines describe a sense of darkness and terror, contrasted with the beauty and intimacy of love. The speaker imagines adorning his beloved’s flesh with dark garlands, creating a striking contrast that makes her skin shine like snow and fire. He mentions the flakes of ash blowing from a distant hill, symbolizing the presence of doom and fear. The speaker warns that dwelling on such terror for too long would have catastrophic consequences. Instead, he suggests laughing and kissing as a way to communicate the unspeakable and find solace in each other’s presence. The speaker acknowledges the beauty reflected in his beloved’s eyes and expresses a sense of wonder at what could be more beautiful than the comfort of home or a child’s peaceful sleep. He concludes by alluding to the combination of pity and gentleness found in the image of snow falling on a burning city.
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