Love in Twilight
There is darkness behind the light -- and the pale light dripsCold on vague shapes and figures, that, half-seen loomLike the carven prows of proud, far-triumphing ships --And the firelight wavers and changes about the room,
As the three logs crackle and burn with a small still sound;Half-blotting with dark the deeper dark of her hair,Where she lies, head pillowed on arm, and one hand curved roundTo shield the white face and neck from the faint thin glare.
Gently she breathes -- and the long limbs lie at ease,And the rise and fall of the young, slim, virginal breastIs as certain-sweet as the march of slow wind through trees,Or the great soft passage of clouds in a sky at rest.
I kneel, and our arms enlace, and we kiss long, long.I am drowned in her as in sleep. There is no more pain.Only the rustle of flames like a broken songThat rings half-heard through the dusty halls of the brain.
One shaking and fragile moment of ecstasy,While the grey gloom flutters and beats like an owl above.And I would not move or speak for the sea or the skyOr the flame-bright wings of the miraculous Dove!
Words in this poem
- carven a.
- Wrought by carving; ornamented by carvings; carved.
- pillowed a.
- Provided with a pillow or pillows; having the head resting on, or as on, a pillow.
- glare v. i.
- To shine with a bright, dazzling light. [OE. glaren, gloren; cf. AS. glær amber, LG. glaren to glow or burn like coals, D. gloren to glimmer; prob. akin to E. glass.]
- virginal a.
- Of or pertaining to a virgin; becoming a virgin; maidenly. [L. virginalis: cf. F. virginal.]
- kneel v. i.
- To bend the knee; to fall or rest on the knees; -- sometimes with down. [OE. knelen, cneolien; akin to D. knielen, Dan. knæle. See Knee.]
- enlace v. t.
- To bind or encircle with lace, or as with lace; to lace; to encircle; to enfold; hence, to entangle.
- rustle v. i.
- To make a quick succession of small sounds, like the rubbing or moving of silk cloth or dry leaves. [AS. hristlan to rustle; or cf. Sw. rusta to stir, make a riot, or E. rush, v.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Love in Twilight is in the public domain. This text is taken from Young Adventure: A Book of Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #312; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Stephen Vincent Benét, Love in Twilight, in Young Adventure (1918), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #312, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/benet-young-adventure/love-in-twilight.html, id L13402.
Form and metre
Love in Twilight is 20 lines in 5 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 4 of its 5 stanzas. 89% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.2 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 30% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABAB dripsA · loomB · shipsA · roomB
- 2 ABAB soundA · hairB · roundA · glareB
- 3 ABAB easeA · breastB · treesA · restB
- 4 ABAB longA · painB · songA · brainB
- 5 -A-A ecstasy · aboveA · sky · doveA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| There is darkness behind the light -- and the pale light drips | 13 | ··/˘········· |
| Cold on vague shapes and figures, that, half-seen loom | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Like the carven prows of proud, far-triumphing ships -- | 12 | ··/˘····/˘˘· |
| And the firelight wavers and changes about the room, | 14 | ·····/˘·/˘···· |
| As the three logs crackle and burn with a small still sound; | 13 | ····/˘······· |
| Half-blotting with dark the deeper dark of her hair, | 12 | ·/˘···/˘···· |
| Where she lies, head pillowed on arm, and one hand curved round | 13 | ····/˘······· |
| To shield the white face and neck from the faint thin glare. | 12 | ············ |
| Gently she breathes -- and the long limbs lie at ease, | 11 | /˘········· |
| And the rise and fall of the young, slim, virginal breast | 13 | ·········/˘˘· |
| Is as certain-sweet as the march of slow wind through trees, | 13 | ··/˘········· |
| Or the great soft passage of clouds in a sky at rest. | 13 | ····/˘······· |
| I kneel, and our arms enlace, and we kiss long, long. | 13 | ···/˘·˘/····· |
| I am drowned in her as in sleep. There is no more pain. | 13 | ············· |
| Only the rustle of flames like a broken song | 12 | /˘·/˘····/˘· |
| That rings half-heard through the dusty halls of the brain. | 12 | ······/˘···· |
| One shaking and fragile moment of ecstasy, | 12 | ·/˘·/˘/˘·/˘˘ |
| While the grey gloom flutters and beats like an owl above. | 13 | ····/˘······· |
| And I would not move or speak for the sea or the sky | 13 | ············· |
| Or the flame-bright wings of the miraculous Dove! | 12 | ·······˘/˘˘· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.