On The Road To The Sea Poem by Charlotte Mary Mew

On The Road To The Sea

Rating: 3.8


We passed each other, turned and stopped for half an hour, then went our way,
I who make other women smile did not make you--
But no man can move mountains in a day.
So this hard thing is yet to do.

But first I want your life:--before I die I want to see
The world that lies behind the strangeness of your eyes,
There is nothing gay or green there for my gathering, it may be,
Yet on brown fields there lies
A haunting purple bloom: is there not something in grey skies
And in grey sea?
I want what world there is behind your eyes,
I want your life and you will not give it me.

Now, if I look, I see you walking down the years,
Young, and through August fields--a face, a thought, a swinging dream
perched on a stile--;
I would have liked (so vile we are!) to have taught you tears
But most to have made you smile.
To-day is not enough or yesterday: God sees it all--
Your length on sunny lawns, the wakeful rainy nights--; tell me--;
(how vain to ask), but it is not a question--just a call--;
Show me then, only your notched inches climbing up the garden wall,
I like you best when you are small.

Is this a stupid thing to say
Not having spent with you one day?
No matter; I shall never touch your hair
Or hear the little tick behind your breast,
Still it is there,
And as a flying bird
Brushes the branches where it may not rest
I have brushed your hand and heard
The child in you: I like that best
So small, so dark, so sweet; and were you also then too grave and wise?
Always I think. Then put your far off little hand in mine;--
Oh! let it rest;
I will not stare into the early world beyond the opening eyes,
Or vex or scare what I love best.
But I want your life before mine bleeds away--
Here--not in heavenly hereafters--soon,--
I want your smile this very afternoon,
(The last of all my vices, pleasant people used to say,
I wanted and I sometimes got--the Moon!)

You know, at dusk, the last bird's cry,
And round the house the flap of the bat's low flight,
Trees that go black against the sky
And then--how soon the night!

No shadow of you on any bright road again,
And at the darkening end of this--what voice? whose kiss? As if you'd say!
It is not I who have walked with you, it will not be I who take away
Peace, peace, my little handful of the gleaner's grain
From your reaped fields at the shut of day.

Peace! Would you not rather die
Reeling,--with all the cannons at your ear?
So, at least, would I,
And I may not be here
To-night, to-morrow morning or next year.
Still I will let you keep your life a little while,
See dear?
I have made you smile.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Paula Atherton 03 May 2008

This is so great. I love it.

2 0 Reply
Rajnish Manga 13 January 2015

The poem progresses in a genteel way whereby the feelings find expression without resorting to any demand or confession from either side. Wonderful poem.

1 0 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 05 August 2024

CONGRATS being chosen as The Modern Poem Of The Day.5 Stars TOP Marks

0 0 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 05 August 2024

THREE: emphasizing the fleeting nature of life and the longing for a meaningful connection. Charlotte Mew's poetry often encoded themes related to repressed homosexuality and identity, providing a space where she could define herself amidst societal repressio

0 0 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 05 August 2024

TWO: the speaker seeks connection, even as time passes inexorably. The poem's introspective tone reflects the desire to penetrate the mysteries hidden within the other person's gaze,

0 0 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 05 August 2024

ONE: This poem explores unrequited longing and desire. The speaker encounters someone briefly, yearning to understand the world behind their eyes. Despite the barriers between them,

0 0 Reply
Aftab Alam Khursheed 13 January 2015

See dear? I have made you smile. the toughest job is done thank you

1 0 Reply
READ THIS POEM IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Close
Error Success