A Kiss (selection from Bernard Freeman Trotter, WW One poet)
She kissed me when she said good-bye—
A child's kiss, neither bold nor shy.
We had met but a few short summer hours;
Talked of the sun, the wind, the flowers,
Sports and people; had rambled through
A casual catchy song or two,
And walked with arms linked to the car
By the light of a single misty star.
(It was war-time, you see, and the streets were dark
Lest the ravishing Hun should find a mark.)
And so we turned to say good-bye;
But somehow or other, I don't know why,
—Perhaps `t was the feel of the khaki coat
(She'd a brother in Flanders then) that smote
Her heart with a sudden tenderness
Which issued in that swift caress—
Somehow, to her, at any rate
A mere hand-clasp seemed inadequate;
And so she lifted her dewey face
And kissed me—but without a trace
Of passion,—and we said good-bye…
A child's kiss,…neither bold nor shy.
My friend, I like you—it seemed to say—
Here's to our meeting again some day!
Some happier day…
Goodbye.
About this poem
Trotter died in military service, 1916. Native of Toronto ON. This poem is entered in a book of war time writings from 1914 to 1918. All the featured writers as soldiers died in the conflict.
Written on April 25, 2023
Submitted by dougb.19255 on April 25, 2023
Modified by dougb.19255 on April 25, 2023
- 1:05 min read
- 12 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AA BB CC DD EE AA FF XX XX GG AA HH HA |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 998 |
Words | 214 |
Stanzas | 13 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 |
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"A Kiss (selection from Bernard Freeman Trotter, WW One poet)" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/157611/a-kiss-(selection-from-bernard-freeman-trotter,-ww-one-poet)>.
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