Poems and Portraits

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Poems and Portraits (1922)
by Don Marquis
484541Poems and Portraits1922Don Marquis

To the Memory of
The late
Joseph Hitt
This book is dedicated

We used to say: "A poseur's trick!
For rhymes inscribed 'In Memory'
Mean just the rhymester's vanity"...
And would your eyebrows twitch at this,
With your old winsome raillery?

You taugh me how to think: to see,
To fix the forms that to and fro
Across the mind's proscenium go;
You taught me how to write; 'tis not
Your fault I have not written so.

You taught me how to live; you showed
Defeat a mien that never quailed;
And with blithe lips that never paled
You flouted Pain. O Heart of Gold,
'Tis not your fault if I have failed!

You taught me how to die; when Death
Moved in between us, mute and grim,
You smiled and made a friend of him...
God grant to me a smile like yours
When the blurred day lessens and grows dim!

And should this seem a stark parade
Of such a bond as mine and thine,
Forgive this boastful heart of mine
That brags it to the crowd, because
I love our names to intertwine.

POEMS

SAVAGE PORTRAITS

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.


The longest-living author of this work died in 1937, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 86 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

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