The House Of Dust: Part 03: 13: The Half-Shut Doors Through Which We Heard That Music

Conrad AikenConrad Aiken

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The half-shut doors through which we heard that music
Are softly closed.  Horns mutter down to silence.
The stars whirl out, the night grows deep.
Darkness settles upon us.  A vague refrain
Drowsily teases at the drowsy brain.
In numberless rooms we stretch ourselves and sleep.Where have we been?  What savage chaos of music
Whirls in our dreams?--We suddenly rise in darkness,
Open our eyes, cry out, and sleep once more.
We dream we are numberless sea-waves languidly foaming
A warm white moonlit shore;Or clouds blown windily over a sky at midnight,
Or chords of music scattered in hurrying darkness,
Or a singing sound of rain . . .
We open our eyes and stare at the coiling darkness,
And enter our dreams again.
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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