Non Sum Qualis eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae
Last night, ah, yesternight, betwixt her lips and mine
There fell thy shadow, Cynara! thy breath was shed
Upon my soul between the kisses and the wine;
And I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
Yea, I was desolate and bowed my head:
I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
All night upon mine heart I felt her warm heart beat,
Night-long within mine arms in love and sleep she lay;
Surely the kisses of her bought red mouth were sweet;
But I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
When I awoke and found the dawn was gray:
I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
I have forgot much, Cynara! gone with the wind,
Flung roses, roses riotously with the throng,
Dancing, to put thy pale, lost lilies out of mind;
But I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
Yea, all the time, because the dance was long:
I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
I cried for madder music and for stronger wine,
But when the feast is finished and the lamps expire,
Then falls thy shadow, Cynara! the night is thine;
And I am desolate and sick of an old passion,
Yea, hungry for the lips of my desire:
I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
poem by Ernest Christopher Dowson

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Related quotes
Non Sum Qualis Eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae
Last night, ah, yesternight, betwixt her lips and mine
There fell thy shadow, Cynara! thy breath was shed
Upon my soul between the kisses and the wine;
And I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
Yea, I was desolate and bowed my head:
I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
All night upon mine heart I felt her warm heart beat,
Night-long within mine arms in love and sleep she lay;
Surely the kisses of her bought red mouth were sweet;
But I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
When I awoke and found the dawn was gray:
I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
I have forgot much, Cynara! gone with the wind,
Flung roses, roses riotously with the throng,
Dancing, to put thy pale, lost lilies out of mind;
But I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
Yea, all the time, because the dance was long:
I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
I cried for madder music and for stronger wine,
But when the feast is finished and the lamps expire,
Then falls thy shadow, Cynara! the night is thine;
And I am desolate and sick of an old passion,
Yea, hungry for the lips of my desire:
I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
poem by Ernest Dowson

Submitted by Dan Costinaş
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Cynara
Last night, ah, yesternight, betwixt her lips and mine
There fell thy shadow, Cynara! thy breath was shed
Upon my soul between the kisses and the wine;
And I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
Yea, I was desolate and bowed my head:
I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
All night upon mine heart I felt her warm heart beat,
Night-long within mine arms in love and sleep she lay;
Surely the kisses of her bought red mouth were sweet;
But I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
When I awoke and found the dawn was gray:
I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
I have forgot much, Cynara! gone with the wind,
Flung roses, roses riotously with the throng,
Dancing, to put thy pale, lost lilies out of mind;
But I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
Yea, all the time, because the dance was long:
I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
I cried for madder music and for stronger wine,
But when the feast is finished and the lamps expire,
Then falls thy shadow, Cynara! the night is thine;
And I am desolate and sick of an old passion,
Yea, hungry for the lips of my desire:
I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
poem by Ernest Christopher Dowson

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To My First Love (Cavatina Sequence)
(after Ernest Dowson)
It felt like yesterday but was many years ago,
you loved me still;
your smile, your lips, your sighs and promises
did my heart fill;
shattered roses, carnations and lilies
with tears did spill,
while all my many promises were true,
in my way I have been faithful to you.
I have kissed other sweet lips in passion,
meant you no ill
after you had left for another lover;
in tender skill
I tried to exorcise your enchantment;
forever will
probably have feelings that are not due,
in my way I have been faithful to you.
To me your love was as fickle as the wind,
our youth is gone
and somehow still I wish you happiness,
now quite alone
love has left you for all the other men,
I have someone
young and lovely that came out of the blue,
in my way I have been faithful to you.
[Reference: “Cynara” by Ernest Dowson.]
poem by Gert Strydom

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My God! O let me call Thee mine!
My God! O let me call Thee mine!
Weak wretched sinner though I be,
My trembling soul would fain be Thine,
My feeble faith still clings to Thee,
My feeble faith still clings to Thee.
Not only for the past I grieve,
The future fills me with dismay;
Unless Thou hasten to relieve,
I know my heart will fall away,
I know my heart will fall away.
I cannot say my faith is strong,
I dare not hope my love is great;
But strength and love to Thee belong,
O, do not leave me desolate!
O, do not leave me desolate!
I know I owe my all to Thee,
O, take this heart I cannot give.
Do Thou my Strength my Saviour be;
And make me to Thy glory live!
And make me to Thy glory live!
poem by Anne Brontë

Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Choriambics
Love, what ailed thee to leave life that was made lovely, we thought, with love?
What sweet visions of sleep lured thee away, down from the light above?
What strange faces of dreams, voices that called, hands that were raised to wave,
Lured or led thee, alas, out of the sun, down to the sunless grave?
Ah, thy luminous eyes! once was their light fed with the fire of day;
Now their shadowy lids cover them close, hush them and hide away.
Ah, thy snow-coloured hands! once were they chains, mighty to bind me fast;
Now no blood in them burns, mindless of love, senseless of passion past.
Ah, thy beautiful hair! so was it once braided for me, for me;
Now for death is it crowned, only for death, lover and lord of thee.
Sweet, the kisses of death set on thy lips, colder are they than mine;
Colder surely than past kisses that love poured for thy lips as wine.
Lov'st thou death? is his face fairer than love's, brighter to look upon?
Seest thou light in his eyes, light by which love's pales and is overshone?
Lo the roses of death, grey as the dust, chiller of leaf than snow!
Why let fall from thy hand love's that were thine, roses that loved thee so?
Large red lilies of love, sceptral and tall, lovely for eyes to see;
Thornless blossom of love, full of the sun, fruits that were reared for thee.
Now death's poppies alone circle thy hair, girdle thy breasts as white;
Bloodless blossoms of death, leaves that have sprung never against the light.
Nay then, sleep if thou wilt; love is content; what should he do to weep?
Sweet was love to thee once; now in thine eyes sweeter than love is sleep.
poem by Algernon Charles Swinburne

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And I was desolate and sick of an old passion.
quote by Ernest Dowson

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Madrigal
Dream days of fond delight and hours
As rosy-hued as dawn, are mine.
Love's drowsy wine,
Brewed from the heart of Passion flowers,
Flows softly o'er my lips
And save thee, all the world is in eclipse.
There were no light if thou wert not;
The sun would be too sad to shine,
And all the line
Of hours from dawn would be a blot;
And Night would haunt the skies,
An unlaid ghost with staring dark-ringed eyes.
Oh, love, if thou wert not my love,
And I perchance not thine--what then?
Could gift of men
Or favor of the God above,
Plant aught in this bare heart
Or teach this tongue the singer's soulful art?
Ah, no! 'Tis love, and love alone
That spurs my soul so surely on;
Turns night to dawn,
And thorns to roses fairest blown;
And winter drear to spring--
Oh, were it not for love I could not sing!
poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar

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The Goblet
ONCE I held a well-carved brimming goblet,--
In my two hands tightly clasp'd I held it,
Eagerly the sweet wine sipp'd I from it,
Seeking there to drown all care and sorrow.
Amor enter'd in, and found me sitting,
And he gently smiled in modest fashion,
Smiled as though the foolish one he pitied.
"Friend, I know a far more beauteous vessel,
One wherein to sink thy spirit wholly;
Say, what wilt thou give me, if I grant it,
And with other nectar fill it for thee?"
Oh, how kindly hath he kept his promise!
For to me, who long had yearn'd, he granted
Thee, my Lida, fill'd with soft affection.
When I clasp mine arms around thee fondly,
When I drink in love's long-hoarded balsam
From thy darling lips so true, so faithful,
Fill'd with bliss thus speak I to my spirit
"No! a vessel such as this, save Amor
Never god hath fashion'd or been lord of!
Such a form was ne'er produced by Vulcan
With his cunning, reason-gifted hammers!
On the leaf-crown'd mountains may Lyaeus
Bid his Fauns, the oldest and the wisest,
Pass the choicest clusters through the winepress,
And himself watch o'er the fermentation:
Such a draught no toil can e'er procure him!"
poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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The Grief Of Love
Love, I am sick for thee, sick with an absolute grief,
Sick with the thought of thy eyes and lips and bosom.
All the beauty I saw, I see to my hurt revealed.
All that I felt I feel to--day for my pain and sorrow.
Love, I would fain forget thee, hide thee in deeper night,
Shut thee where no thought is, in the grave with tears.
Love, I would turn my face to the wall and, if needs be, die;
Death less cruel were than thy eyes which have blinded me.
Since thou art gone from me, glory is gone from my life;
Dumb are the woods and streams, and dumb the voice of my soul;
Dead are the flowers we loved, blackened and sere with blight;
Earth is frost--bound under my foot where our footsteps trod.
Give me back for my sorrow the days of senseless peace,
Days when I thought not of thee, or thought in wisdom;
Let me see thee once more as thou to my folly wert,
A woman senseless as sounding brass or as tinkling cymbal.
Why didst thou show me thy heart, which I thought not of?
Why didst thou bare me thy soul, who to me wert soulless?
Why didst thou kiss my mouth, when my mouth did mock?
Why didst thou speak to my lips of love, ere my lips had spoken?
Love, thou hast made me thine, thine, and in my despite,
Laying thy hand on my heart in the soft Spring weather;
Love, thou hast bought my soul at a price, the price of thine,
Never again to mock at love, ah, never, never!
poem by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt

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Passion
A passion found, is a passion to keep
A passion felt, is a passion to be kept
Poetry from the heart, poetry from the soul,
Poetry I have always felt,
There are many passions in
this world but none like this one, which you can
always return too when you feel lost or
feel you have something to say
I love thee yet, I love thee more
but with words I can express thee hence more
Sometimes life feels too complex to find the one with the same passion as you share,
Someone that understands you for you, not only the external you, but the inner you,
Someone that understands your thoughts and passions in life; pleasure is one thing but
Once that desire for pleasure with that person has been diminished,
what is there, nothing, a desire gone and lost,
yet to say I yearn, and can't wait till I find the one that shares the same passion and desires as I do
poem by Coker George

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Winding All My Life About Thee
Winding all my life about thee,
Let me lay my lips on thine;
What is all the world without thee,
Mine --oh mine!
Let me press my heart out on thee,
Grape of life's most fiery vine,
Spilling sacramental on thee
Love's red wine.
Let thy strong eyes yearning o'er me
Draw me with their force divine;
All my soul has gone before me
Clasping thine.
Irresistibly I follow,
As whenever we may run
Runs our shadow, as the swallow
Seeks the sun.
Yea, I tremble, swoon, surrender
All my spirit to thy sway,
As a star is drowned in splendour
Of the day.
poem by Mathilde Blind

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Transition
A little while to walk with thee, dear child;
To lean on thee my weak and weary head;
Then evening comes: the winter sky is wild,
The leafless trees are black, the leaves long dead.
A little while to hold thee and to stand,
By harvest-fields of bending golden corn;
Then the predestined silence, and thine hand,
Lost in the night, long and weary and forlorn.
A little while to love thee, scarcely time
To love thee well enough; then time to part,
To fare through wintry fields alone and climb
The frozen hills, not knowing where thou art.
Short summer-time and then, my heart's desire,
The winter and the darkness: one by one
The roses fall, the pale roses expire
Beneath the slow decadence of the sun.
poem by Ernest Christopher Dowson

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A Fragment
Beautiful star with the crimson lips
And flagrant daffodil hair,
Come back, come back, in the shaking ships
O'er the much-overrated sea,
To the hearts that are sick for thee
With a woe worse than mal de mer-
O beautiful stars with the crimson lips
And the flagrant daffodil hair. -
O ship that shakes on the desolate sea,
Neath the flag of the wan White Star,
Thou bringest a brighter star with thee
From the land of the Philistine,
Where Niagara's reckoned fine
And Tupper is popular-
O ship that shakes on the desolate sea,
Neath the flag of the wan White Star.
poem by Oscar Wilde

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A Lady's Response to 'The Proposal
How might you be my everything, my heart's tutelar,
When I shan't allow thee to be, for me, too famular!
I need not, thee, nor any other, to be most veracious-
I shan't allow that my heart be for thee, too commodious!
You may not be its guardian, as I see to its coffer,
I resist the enticement of your most beguiling offer!
You hold me in the highest esteem, I do not understand;
Yet, I too must abide by my heart's wanton command!
I need make alliance betwixt mine own heart and thine own mind,
I shall need too, allow: that we two be amorously intertwined!
My every thought, you shall be, due my allegiance of cause-
As I sleep, or as I am awake, thoughts of thee shall ne'er pause!
It is my heart's solemn duty, to accept this calling, amorous;
My heart brims with emotion, yet shall remain commodious!
You too, shan't need want for any fashion of love or attention,
With every moment, witness again, we shall, its ascension;
As each day passes to the morrow, again it is ever more-
My heart is most captivated-I concede, thee I do adore!
My wants are wants of your own, sikerly, I feel the same-
My heart and soul thieved-further denial would be for shame!
Dreams I had coffered are now dreams to which we aspire-
For you are the solitary source of my mind's true admire!
I shall be for thee: your heart's faithful guerdon, your confidant,
Most trusted friend, your sunshine in the rain and duteous appreciant;
The world shall behold the truth that hath captivated my heart-
All shall revel, as I, in all the wonder and love you do impart!
Remiss would I be, if but one single moment lain waste
Whence I celebrated not, the magnificence therein graced!
Maurice Harris,22 March 2010
poem by Maurice Harris

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The Slave-Mother's Farewell
May God have mercy on thee, son, for man's stern heart hath none!
My gentle boy, my beautiful, my loved and only one!
I would the bitter tears that steep thy young and grief-doom'd head,
Were springing from a broken heart, that mourn'd thee with the dead.
And yet how often have I watch'd above thine infant sleep,
With love whose gushing tenderness strove vainly not to weep,
When starting through my timid heart, the thought that thou couldst die,
Shot, even amidst a mother's bliss, a pang of agony.
My boy! my boy! Oh cling not thus around me in thy grief,
Thy mother's arm, thy mother's love, can yield thee no relief;
The tiger's bloody jaw hath not a gripe more fierce and fell
Than that which tears thee from my arms—thou who wert loved so well!
How may I live bereft of thee? Thy smile was all that flung
A ray of gladness ‘midst the gloom, forever round me hung:
How may a mother's heart endure to think upon thy fate,
Thou doom'd to misery and chains!—so young and desolate!
Farewell! farewell!—They tear thee hence!—and yet my heart beats on;
How can it bear the weight of life, when thou art from me gone?
Mine own! mine own! Yet cruel hands have barter'd thee for gold,
And torn thee, with a ruthless grasp, forever from my hold!
poem by Elizabeth Margaret Chandler from Poetical Works (1836)

Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Rhythm Divine
From the coast of ipanema
To the island of capri
All the way to kualalumpur
I will follow you wherever you may be
From the moment I first saw you
Knew my heart could not be free
Have to hold you in my arms now
There can never be another for me
All I need is the rhythm divine
Lost in the music, your heart will be mine
All I need is to look in your eyes
Viva la musica, say you'll be mine
Can you feel the heat of passion?
Can you taste our love's sweet wine?
Join the dance and let it happen
Put tomorrow's cares right out of your mind
As the music draws you closer
And you fall under my spell I will catch you in my arms now
Where the night will take us no one can tell
All I need is the rhythm divine
Lost in the music, your heart will be mine
All I need is to look in your eyes
Viva la musica, say you'll be mine
Gotta have this feeling forever
Gotta live this moment together
Nothing else matters just you and the night
Follow on the wings of desire
Now the rhythm's taking you higher
No one can stop us from havin' it all you are my heart you are my soul
All I need is the rhythm divine
Lost in the music, your heart will be mine
All I need is to look in your eyes
Viva la musica, say you'll be mine
song performed by by Enrique Iglesias

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Transfiguration
She says she loves me but not as much as thou hate me now
Still when her words articulate, thy voice dwells in my ear
On one knee I kiss her hand, but to thee mine heart bow
Thy hate as sweet as this one's love, tis truth my love I fear.
A scoundrel I am, deceiving love with love so vogue
Her eyes in crimson pools swim in thy heart's ardent passion
To fervor her love I pretend she is thee, with the heart of a rogue
I confess with solemn grace, dressed in happiness behind beauties fashion
Devoid of truth but full of love I whisper 'my sweet I love you'
I see mine reflection in her gleaming eye and over mine shoulder aloof
Defining my heart with thy cold stare I see you mine heart true
Incredulous this woman sees in my love, thy portentous sooth
And cries out 'something is wrong this is not me but who? '
I look again and deep in her eyes I see not her but you….
poem by Kevin Michael Murphy

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As Thee Will'eth
For the love of thy night creature,
Call’eth, with thy heart, dark romance’s very teacher.
As thee will’eth on thy heavenly plain,
So shall it be in thy hellish refrain.
To bask’eth in divine love
While’st thy bodies fall from above.
For this mortal sin
Will eat ourselves both from within.
Angelic presence should not be tainted
By thy demonic love, so un-sainted.
Pure Spirit of thee hold’st true
To thy darkened fleshly hue.
Still thee summons thy shade
And thyself appears as inferno’s flames fade.
True love, in eye-lock’eth gaze, commence
As we art to be’eth together forever since.
To create love equal to none,
Thee has spurned the very One
In creation of thine passion
That be’eth from no lofted fashion.
For the love of thy night creature,
Call’eth, with thy heart, dark romance’s very teacher.
As thee will’eth on thy heavenly plain,
So shall it be in thy hellish refrain.
poem by Robert L. Bixler III

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A Love Song
Ah, love, my love is like a cry in the night,
A long, loud cry to the empty sky,
The cry of a man alone in the desert,
With hands uplifted, with parching lips,
Oh, rescue me, rescue me,
Thy form to mine arms,
The dew of thy lips to my mouth,
Dost thou hear me?--my call thro' the night?
Darling, I hear thee and answer,
Thy fountain am I,
All of the love of my soul will I bring to thee,
All of the pains of my being shall wring to thee,
Deep and forever the song of my loving shall sing to thee,
Ever and ever thro' day and thro' night shall I cling to thee.
Hearest thou the answer?
Darling, I come, I come.
poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar

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Dancing to the Harp of Passion
Dancing to the Harp of Passion
Let the fire silently burn within,
our hearts as we dance tonight.
Let us dance from the peak of dawn,
to beginning of twilight.
Soak in this solitude-just you and me,
as we dance to the Harp of Passion.
A silent sound to others but us:
a song in melodic fashion.
Cast our shadows on the wall,
for they shall never age.
Remember this moment for all your life,
until our final days.
Dance through the fall of night,
and the rise of the moon.
The stars as our audience,
as well as the lune.
Dance is the art of movement.
Through it, love moves.
With you as we dance,
the feeling soothes...
Keep pace with the Harp of Passion,
with you only, do I feel this.
Dancing to the Harp of Passion,
an eternal state of bliss
poem by Wesley Mincin

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