Twilight–and you
Quiet–the stars;
Snare of the shine of your teeth,
Your provocative laughter,
The gloom of your hair;
Lure of you, eye and lip;
Yearning, yearning,
Languor, surrender;
Your mouth,
And madness, madness,
Tremulous, breathless, flaming,
The space of a sigh;
Then awakening–remembrance,
Pain, regret–your sobbing;
And again, quiet–the stars,
Twilight–and you.
Angelina Weld Grimké’s “El Beso” was first published in 1909 and became Grimké’s first widely anthologized poem. This lyric meditation expresses a sense of isolation and desire.
Angelina Weld Grimké was born on February 27, 1880, in Boston. In addition to being a poet, she was one of the first African American women to have a play publicly performed. Grimké died in 1958.
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