In Shadow by Hart Crane

Émile Joachim Constant Puyo, Woman with white parasol, 1909.

Out in the late amber afternoon,
Confused among chrysanthemums,
Her parasol, a pale balloon,
Like a waiting moon, in shadow swims.

Her furtive lace and misty hair
Over the garden dial distill
The sunlight,--then withdrawing, wear
Again the shadows at her will.

Gently yet suddenly, the sheen
Of stars inwraps her parasol.
She hears my step behind the green
Twilight, stiller than shadows, fall.

"Come, it is too late,--too late
To risk alone the light’s decline:
Now has the evening long to wait,"--
But her own words are night’s and mine.

-- sdh

Comments

[DL]

What year did he write this poem? Where did you find this fine find?