Improvisations: Light And Snow: 10

Conrad AikenConrad Aiken

1 min read · 12.4K reads

It is night time, and cold, and snow is falling,
And no wind grieves the walls.
In the small world of light around the arc-lamp
A swarm of snowflakes falls and falls.
The street grows silent. The last stranger passes.
The sound of his feet, in the snow, is indistinct.
What forgotten sadness is it, on a night like this,
Takes possession of my heart?
Why do I think of a camellia tree in a southern garden,
With pink blossoms among dark leaves,
Standing, surprised, in the snow?
Why do I think of spring?
The snowflakes, helplessly veering,,
Fall silently past my window;
They come from darkness and enter darkness.
What is it in my heart is surprised and bewildered
Like that camellia tree,
Beautiful still in its glittering anguish?
And spring so far away!
Conrad Aiken
About the poet

Conrad Aiken

1889 - 1973/AmericanConrad Potter Aiken was an American novelist and poet, whose work includes poetry, short stories, novels, and an autobiography. Aiken was deeply influenced by symbolism, especially in his earlier works. In 1930 he received the Pulitzer Pri…

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