Thursday, June 5, 2008

"Your kisses turbulent, unspent"




















I Want to Die While You Love me
Georgia Douglas Johnson

I want to die while you love me,
While yet you hold me fair,
While laughter lies upon my lips
And lights are in my hair.

I want to die while you love me,
And bear to that still bed,
Your kisses turbulent, unspent
To warm me when I’m dead.

I want to die while you love me
Oh, who would care to live
Till love has nothing more to ask
And nothing more to give!

I want to die while you love me
And never, never see
The glory of this perfect day
Grow dim or cease to be.



From The Book of American Negro Poetry, 1922. Text from Bartleby.com. Read about Georgia Douglas Johnson here.

Hero and Leander, William Etty, 1828. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

3 comments:

Perfumeshrine said...

"And never, never see
The glory of this perfect day
Grow dim or cease to be": that's the main fear, isn't it?

;-)

chayaruchama said...

Turbulent kisses are SO up my Khyber Pass ... I mean, my alley.

Me LOVE dat painting.
And Nocturnes.
God, I'd love to let you loose in my collection, girl.
They'd find us later...
Dead, dessicated, and happy.
Nothing like dying wit a smile on one's face, Gracie.

BitterGrace said...

It is, E, indeed. Strange how no logic or force of will can overcome that desire to stop time.

Chaya, if I ever got loose in your perfume collection I'm sure I would vaporize in ecstasy. If I ever decide to throw in the towel, that's the way I'd like to go.