A Duet

Thomas Sturge Moore 1870 – 1944



'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 sand a king and queen in Babylon.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 15, 2023

31 sec read
109

Quick analysis:

Scheme AAAB BBBX CACD DDDX X
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 634
Words 110
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 1

Thomas Sturge Moore

Thomas Sturge Moore was an English poet author and artist He was born on 4 March 1870 and was educated at Dulwich College the Croydon Art School and Lambeth Art School He was a long-term friend and correspondent of W B Yeats He was also a playwright writing a Medea influenced by Yeats drama and the Japanese Noh style Sturge Moore was a prolific poet and his subjects included morality art and the spirit His first pamphlet Two Poems was printed privately in 1893 and his first book of verse The Vinedresser was published in 1899 His love for poetry lead him to become an active member of the Poetry Recital Society His first of 31 plays to be produced was Aphrodite against Artemis 1906 staged by the Literary Theatre Club of which he became a member in 1908 He received a civil list pension in 1920 in recognition for his contribution to literature and in 1930 he was nominated as one of seven candidates for the position of Poet Laureate He died on 18 July 1944 He adopted the name Sturge as a way of avoiding confusion with the poet Thomas Moore more…

All Thomas Sturge Moore poems | Thomas Sturge Moore Books

1 fan

Discuss the poem A Duet with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "A Duet" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/37136/a-duet>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    More poems by

    Thomas Sturge Moore

    »

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    12
    days
    13
    hours
    23
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    A Persian poet writing in the 14th century who had a strong impact and influence on Goethe
    A Sa'adi
    B Ferdowsi
    C Rumi
    D Hafez