Donald Justice Sad Poems
- 1. A Dancer's Life
The lights in the theater fail. The long racks
Of costumes abandoned by the other dancers
Trouble Celeste. The conductor asks
If she is sad because autumn is coming on,
... - 2. Sadness
1
Dear ghosts, dear presences, O my dear parents,
Why were you so sad on porches, whispering?
What great melancholies were loosed among our swings!
... - 3. Henry James At The Pacific
-- Coronado Beach, California, March, 1905
In a hotel room by the sea, the Master
Sits brooding on the continent he has crossed.
... - 4. Poem
This poem is not addressed to you.
You may come into it briefly,
But no one will find you here, no one.
You will have changed before the poem will.
... - 5. Nostalgia Of The Lakefronts
Cities burn behind us; the lake glitters.
A tall loudspeaker is announcing prizes;
Another, by the lake, the times of cruises.
Childhood, once vast with terrors and surprises,
... - 6. Nostalgia And Complaint Of The Grandparents
Les morts
Câ??est sous terre;
Ã?a nâ??en sort
Guère.
...