T. R. Smith, comp. Poetica Erotica: Rare and Curious Amatory Verse. 1921–22.
From “The Dance of Life”
By Conrad Aiken (1889–1973)(From Turns and Movies, 1916) GRACIOUS and lovable and sweet, | |
| She made his jaded pulses beat, | |
| And made the glare of streets grow dim | |
| And life more soft and hushed for him…. | |
| Over her shoulder now she smiled | 5 |
| Trustfully to him, like a child, | |
| The while her fingers gayly moved | |
| Along these white keys dearly loved, | |
| Making them laugh a jocund measure, | |
| Making them show and sing her pleasure…. | 10 |
| A smile that dwelt upon his eyes, | |
| To see what mood might therein rise,— | |
| What point of soft light seen afar | |
| Which might dilate to moon or star…. | |
| A smile that for a second space | 15 |
| Brooded wistfully on her face, | |
| Opening soft her spirit’s door, | |
| Disclosing depths undreamed before: | |
| Passionate depths of half-seen flame, | |
| Young loveliness despising shame, | 20 |
| Desire that trembled to meet desire, | |
| And fire that yearned to fuse with fire…. | |
| And lightly then she turned away. | |
| Ironic music rippled gay,— | |
| Subtle sarcastic flippancies | 25 |
| Disguising speechless ecstasies … | |
| “Play something else …” He rose to turn | |
| The pages, while the deep nocturne | |
| Struck slow rich chords of plangent pain, | |
| Beautiful, into heart and brain; | 30 |
| A tortured, anguished, suffering thing | |
| That seemed at once to cry and sing; | |
| Despairing love that strove to find | |
| The face beloved with fingers blind. | |
| He saw her body’s slender grace, | 35 |
| This drooping shoulder, shadowed face; | |
| All of her body, hidden so | |
| In saffron satin’s flush and flow,— | |
| Its white and simple loveliness,— | |
| Came on his heart like giddiness, | 40 |
| Seductive as this music came; | |
| Until her body seemed like flame,— | |
| Intense white flame, so swiftly moving | |
| That it gave scarcely time for loving; | |
| But rapid as the sun she seemed, | 45 |
| A blinding light that flowed and streamed | |
| And sang and shone through roaring space…. | |
| The sun itself! for now her face, | |
| Wherein this music’s whole soul dwelt, | |
| Drew him like helpless star, he felt | 50 |
| A fierce compulsion, reckless, mad, | |
| A sweet compulsion, troubled, glad, | |
| His trembling hands went out to her, | |
| Her cool flesh made his senses blur; | |
| While, head thrown backward, sinking dim, | 55 |
| She opened wide her soul to him…. | |
| Past his life went whirls of lights, | |
| Chaos of music, days and nights, | |
| Her wild eyes yearned to lure him in | |
| And close him up in dark of sin, | 60 |
| To lure him in and drink him down | |
| And all his soul in love to drown…. | |
| Her nakedness he seemed to see. | |
| And breast to breast, and knee to knee, | |
| Tremulous, breathless, swaying, burning, | 65 |
| Body to beautiful body yearning, | |
| In joy and terror, flesh to flesh, | |
| They flamed in passion’s fine red mesh,— | |
| Living in one short breath again | |
| The cosmic tide’s whole bliss and pain, | 70 |
| Darkness and ether, nebulous fire, | |
| Vast suns whirled forth by vast desire, | |
| Huge moons flung out with monstrous mirth | |
| And stars in glorious hells of birth, | |
| All jubilating, blazing, reeling, | 75 |
| In orgiastic splendor wheeling, | |
| Moon torn from earth and star from sun | |
| In screaming pain, titanic fun, | |
| And stars whirled back to sun again | |
| To be consumed in flaming pain!… | 80 |
| In them at last all life was met: | |
| They were God’s self! This earth had set. | |
| Mad fires of life sang through their veins, | |
| Ruinous blisses, joyous pains, | |
| Life the destroyer, life the breaker, | 85 |
| And death, the everlasting maker…. * * * * * | |