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‹Better GutenbergCaroling DuskLines Written at the Grave of Alexander Dumas · 172 of 254Contents›

Caroling Dusk

by Countee Cullen

172 of 254 · Contents · Download EPUB

Lines Written at the Grave of Alexander Dumas

Cemeteries are places for departed souls
And bones interred,
Or hearts with shattered loves.
A woman with lips made warm for laughter
Would find grey stones and roving spirits
Too chill for living, moving pulses...
And thou, great spirit, wouldst shiver in thy granite shroud
Should idle mirth or empty talk
Disturb thy tranquil sleeping.

A cemetery is a place for shattered loves
And broken hearts....
Bowed before the crystal chalice of thy soul,
I find the multi-colored fragrance of thy mind
Has lost itself in Death’s transparency.

Oh, stir the lucid waters of thy sleep
And coin for me a tale
Of happy loves and gems and joyous limbs
And hearts where love is sweet!

A cemetery is a place for broken hearts
And silent thought...
And silence never moves,
Nor speaks nor sings.

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