The House Of Dust: Part 03: 02: The Screen Maiden Poem Rhyme Scheme

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You read mdash what is it then that you are reading	A
What music moves so silently in your mind	B
Your bright hand turns the page	C
I watch you from my window unsuspected	D
You move in an alien land a silent age	C
	-
The poet mdash what was his name mdash Tokkei mdash Tokkei mdash	E
The poet walked alone in a cold late rain	F
And thought his grief was like the crying of sea birds	G
For his lover was dead he never would love again	H
	-
Rain in the dreams of the mind mdash rain forever mdash	E
Rain in the sky of the heart mdash rain in the willows mdash	E
But then he saw this face this face like flame	I
This quiet lady this portrait by Hiroshigi	C
And took it home with him and with it came	I
	-
What unexpected changes subtle as weather	J
The dark room cold as rain	F
Grew faintly fragrant stirred with a stir of April	K
Warmed its corners with light again	H
	-
And smoke of incense whirled about this portrait	L
And the quiet lady there	M
So young so quietly smiling with calm hands	N
Seemed ready to loose her hair	M
	-
And smile and lean from the picture or say one word	O
The word already clear	P
Which seemed to rise like light between her eyelids	Q
He held his breath to hear	R
	-
And smiled for shame and drank a cup of wine	S
And held a candle and searched her face	T
Through all the little shadows to see what secret	L
Might give so warm a grace	T
	-
Was it the quiet mouth restrained a little	K
The eyes half turned aside	U
The jade ring on her wrist still almost swinging	A
The secret was denied	U
	-
He chose his favorite pen and drew these verses	V
And slept and as he slept	W
A dream came into his heart his lover entered	O
And chided him and wept	W
	-
And in the morning waking he remembered	O
And thought the dream was strange	C
Why did his darkened lover rise from the garden	X
He turned and felt a change	C
	-
As if a someone hidden smiled and watched him	Y
Yet there was only sunlight there	M
Until he saw those young eyes quietly smiling	A
And held his breath to stare	M
	-
And could have sworn her cheek had turned mdash a little	K
Had slightly turned away	Z
Sunlight dozed on the floor He sat and wondered	O
Nor left his room that day	Z
	-
And that day and for many days thereafter	J
He sat alone and thought	A2
No lady had ever lived so beautiful	K
As Hiroshigi wrought	A2
	-
Or if she lived no matter in what country	B2
By what far river or hill or lonely sea	B2
He would look in every face until he found her	J
There was no other as fair as she	B2
	-
And before her quiet face he burned soft incense	C2
And brought her every day	Z
Boughs of the peach or almond or snow white cherry	B2
And somehow she seemed to say	Z
	-
That silent lady young and quietly smiling	A
That she was happy there	M
And sometimes seeing this he started to tremble	K
And desired to touch her hair	M
	-
To lay his palm along her hand touch faintly	B2
With delicate finger tips	D2
The ghostly smile that seemed to hover and vanish	E
Upon her lips	D2
	-
Until he knew he loved this quiet lady	B2
And night by night a dread	E2
Leered at his dreams for he knew that Hiroshigi	C
Was many centuries dead mdash	E
	-
And the lady too was dead and all who knew her	J
Dead and long turned to dust	F2
The thin moon waxed and waned and left him paler	J
The peach leaves flew in a gust	F2
	-
And he would surely have died but there one day	Z
A wise man white with age	C
Stared at the portrait and said 'This Hiroshigi	C
Knew more than archimage mdash	E
	-
Cunningly drew the body and called the spirit	L
Till partly it entered there	J
Sometimes at death it entered the portrait wholly	B2
Do all I say with care	J
	-
And she you love may come to you when you call her '	-
So then this ghost Tokkei	A
Ran in the sun bought wine of a hundred merchants	G2
And alone at the end of day	Z
	-
Entered the darkening room and faced the portrait	L
And saw the quiet eyes	H2
Gleaming and young in the dusk and held the wine cup	I2
And knelt and did not rise	H2
	-
And said aloud 'Lo san will you drink this wine '	-
Said it three times aloud	J2
And at the third the faint blue smoke of incense	C2
Rose to the walls in a cloud	J2
	-
And the lips moved faintly and the eyes and the calm hands stirred	O
And suddenly with a sigh	K2
The quiet lady came slowly down from the portrait	L
And stood while worlds went by	K2
	-
And lifted her young white hands and took the wine cup	I2
And the poet trembled and said	E2
'Lo san will you stay forever ' mdash 'Yes I will stay ' mdash	E
'But what when I am dead '	-
	-
'When you are dead your spirit will find my spirit	L
And then we shall die no more '	-
Music came down upon them and spring returning	A
They remembered worlds before	J
	-
And years went over the earth and over the sea	B2
And lovers were born and spoke and died	U
But forever in sunlight went these two immortal	K
Tokkei and the quiet bride	U

Conrad Potter Aiken

The House Of Dust: Part 03: 02: The Screen Maiden Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

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