[Image : Solitude (c) Rosiehardy]Abscence in love is worse than any fate
Summer is winter’s desert & the spring
Is like a ruined city, desolate.
Joy dies & hope retires on feeble wing;
Nature sinks heedless — birds unheeded sing.
‘Tis solitude in cities — crowds all move
Like living death — though all to life still cling —
The strongest bitterest thing that life can prove
Is woman’s undisguise of hate & love.
Summer is winter’s desert & the spring
Is like a ruined city, desolate.
Joy dies & hope retires on feeble wing;
Nature sinks heedless — birds unheeded sing.
‘Tis solitude in cities — crowds all move
Like living death — though all to life still cling —
The strongest bitterest thing that life can prove
Is woman’s undisguise of hate & love.
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2 comments:
Interesting how when punctuation is added to Clare the meaning changes.
The dash between 'cities' and 'crowds' gives a different meaning to where I thought it belonged; between the 'crowds' and 'all'.
Hi Lionel...
Certainly so. I've just been commenting on some pretty obscure Clare poems that are currently being translated into Italian by Simona, a Society member, and made exactly the same point in my comments.
Usually I post here without punctuation, but occasionally I copy a published version (which as we all know is not necessarily 'correct')
Greetings...
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