Miranda
My dear one is mine as mirrors are lonely,
As the poor and sad are real to the good king,
And the high green hill sits always by the sea.
Up jumped the Black Man behind the elder tree,
Turned a somersault and ran away waving;
My Dear One is mine as mirrors are lonely.
The Witch gave a squawk; her venomous body Melted into light as water leaves a spring,
And the high green hill sits always by the sea.
At his crossroads, too, the Ancient prayed for me,
Down his wasted cheeks tears of joy were running:
My dear one is mine as mirrors are lonely.
He kissed me awake, and no one was sorry;
The sun shone on sails, eyes, pebbles, anything,
And the high green hill sits always by the sea.
So to remember our changing garden, we Are linked as children in a circle dancing:
My dear one is mine as mirrors are lonely,
And the high, green hill sits always by the sea.
W H Auden
Other author posts
O Tell Me The Truth About Love
Some say love's a little boy, And some say it's a bird, Some say it makes the world go around, Some say that's absurd,
September 1 1939
I sit in one of the On Fifty-second Uncertain and As the clever hopes
They Wondered Why the Fruit had Been Forbidden
They wondered why the fruit had been forbidden: It taught them nothing new They hid their pride, But did not listen much when they were chidden:
Lullaby
Lay your sleeping head, my love, Human on my faithless arm; Time and fevers burn Individual beauty