A Duet / T. Sturge Moore

A Duet

'Flowers nodding gaily, scent in air,
Flowers posied, flowers for the hair,
Sleepy flowers, flowers bold to stare —'
'O pick me some!'

'Shells with lip, or tooth, or bleeding gum,
Tell-tale shells, and shells that whisper Come,
Shells that stammer, blush, and yet are dumb —'
'O let me hear.'

'Eyes so black they draw one trembling near,
Brown eyes, caverns flooded with a tear,
Cloudless eyes, blue eyes so windy clear —'
'O look at me!'

'Kisses sadly blown across the sea,
Darkling kisses, kisses fair and free,
Bob-a-cherry kisses 'neath a tree —'
'O give me one!'

Thus sang a king and queen in Babylon.

~~
T. Sturge Moore (1870-1944)
from The Vinedresser, and other poems, 1899

[Poem is in the public domain in Canada, the United States, and the European Union]

T. Sturge Moore biography