English Poetry. Countee Cullen. The Loss of Love. Каунти Каллен.

Countee Cullen (Каунти Каллен)

The Loss of Love

All through an empty place I go,
And find her not in any room;
The candles and the lamps I light
Go down before a wind of gloom. 
Thick-spraddled lies the dust about,
A fit, sad place to write her name
Or draw her face the way she looked
That legendary night she came.

The old house crumbles bit by bit;
Each day I hear the ominous thud
That says another rent is there
For winds to pierce and storms to flood.

My orchards groan and sag with fruit;
Where, Indian-wise, the bees go round;
I let it rot upon the bough;
I eat what falls upon the ground.

The heavy cows go laboring
In agony with clotted teats;
My hands are slack; my blood is cold;
I marvel that my heart still beats.

I have no will to weep or sing,
No least desire to pray or curse;
The loss of love is a terrible thing;
They lie who say that death is worse.

Countee Cullen’s other poems:

1. The Wakeupworld
2. From the Dark Tower
3. That Bright Chimeric Beast
4. The Shroud of Color
5. Youth Sings a Song of Rosebuds

To the dedicated English version of this website

---