Skip to content
1837–1909

BY THE CLIFF

Algernon Charles Swinburne

Is it daytime ( guess ), You that feed my soul To excess With that light in those eyes

And those curls drawn like a scroll In that round grave guise? No or yes? Oh, the end, I'd say!

Such a foolish thing ( Pure girls’ play! ) As a mere mute heart, Was it worth a kiss, a ring,

This? for two must part — Not to-day. Look, the whole sand crawls, Hums, a heaving hive,

Scrapes and scrawls — Such a buzz and burst! Here just one thing's not alive, One that was at first —

But life palls. Yes, my heart, I know, Just my heart's stone dead — Yes, just so.

Sick with heat, those worms Drop down scorched and overfed — No more need of germs! Let them go.

Yes, but you now, look, You, the rouged stage female With a crook, Chalked Arcadian sham,

You that made my soul's sleep's dream ail — Your soul fit to damn? Shut the book.

Cookies on Poetry Cove

We use cookies to remember your language preference and — only with your consent — to learn how Poetry Cove is used. You can change your mind any time.
BY THE CLIFF · Algernon Charles Swinburne · Poetry Cove