But I shall go down from this airy space, this swift white peace, this stinging exultation; And time will close about me, and my soul stir to the rhythm of the daily round. Yet, having known, life will not press so close, And always I shall feel time ravel thin about me. In the white windy presence of eternity. THE DRUG CLERK The drug clerk stands behind the counter Before him burn the great unwinking lights, Red as hell's pit, green as a mermaid's hair. Behind him on the shelves in ordered rows With strange, abbreviated names Dwell half the facts of life. That young man knows, Bottled and boxed and powdered here, Dumb tragedies, deceptions, secret shames, Sleep slumbers here, like a great quiet sea Shrunk to this bottle's compass; sleep that brings Sweet respite from the teeth of pain To those poor tossing things That the white nurses watch so thoughtfully. And here again Dwell the shy souls of Maytime flowers That shall make sweeter still those poignant hours Here are cosmetics, powders, paints,-the arts And here is comfort for the hearts Of sucking babes in their first teething pain. Of ecstasy and madness, that shall come To cure a blue sick funk, And dearly paid for in the final sum. When the one weary hope is past The little postern in the house of breath And at last Where pallid fugitives keep tryst with death. All this the drug clerk knows and there he stands, He rests a pair of slender hands, Much manicured, upon the counter there Sara Teasdale Sara Teasdale was born August 8, 1884, at St. Louis, Missouri, and educated there. After leaving school, she traveled in Europe and the Near East. In 1914, she married Ernst B. Filsinger, who has written several books on foreign trade, and moved to New York City in 1916. Her first book was a slight volume, Sonnets to Duse (1907), giving little promise of the rich lyricism which was to follow. Helen of Troy and Other Poems (1911) contains the first hints of that delicate craftsmanship and authentic loveliness which this poet has brought to such a high pitch. The six monologues which open the volume are splendid delineations written in a blank verse that is as musical as many of her lyrics. At times it suffers from too conscious a cleverness; the dexterity with which Miss Teasdale turns a phrase or twists her last line is frequently too obtrusive to be wholly enjoyable. Rivers to the Sea (1915) emphasizes this epigrammatic skill, but a greater restraint is here, a warmer spontaneity. The new collection contains at least a dozen unforgettable snatches, lyrics in which the words seem to fall into place without art effort. Seldom employing metaphor or striking imagery, almost bare of ornament, these poems have the sheer magic of triumphant song. Theirs is an artlessness that is more than or. an art. Love Songs (1917) is a collection of Miss Teasdale's previous melodies for the viola d'amore together with several new tunes. The new poems emphasize the way in which this poet achieves a direct enchantment without verbal subtleties. They also em phasize their superiority to the earlier love lyrics that were written in a mood of literary romance, of artificial moonlit roses, languishing lutes, balconies, passionate guitars-a mood that was not so much erotic as Pierrotic. Flame and Shadow (1920) is by far the best of her books. Here the beauty is fuller and deeper; an almost mystic radiance plays from these starry verses. Technically, also, this volume marks Miss Teasdale's greatest advance. The words are chosen with a keener sense of their actual as well as their musical values; the rhythms are much more subtle and varied; the line moves with a greater naturalness. Beneath the symbolism of poems like "Water Lilies" and "The Long Hill,” one is conscious of a finer artistry, a more flexible speech that is all the lovelier for its slight (and logical) irregularities. Besides her own books, Miss Teasdale has compiled an anthology, The Answering Voice (1917), comprising one hundred love lyrics by women. 1 NIGHT SONG AT AMALFI 1 I asked the heaven of stars What I should give my love— It answered me with silence, I asked the darkened sea Down where the fishermen go— Silence below. 1 Reprinted by permission of the publishers, The Macmillan Company, from Love Songs by Sara Teasdale. Oh, I could give him weeping, SPRING NIGHT 1 The park is filled with night and fog, Gold and gleaming the empty streets, Oh, is it not enough to be Here with this beauty over me? My throat should ache with praise, and I With youth, a singing voice, and eyes I, for whom the pensive night Binds her cloudy hair with light, 1 Reprinted by permission of the publishers, The Macmillan Company, from Rivers to the Sea by Sara Teasdale. |