First and Last Kiss

Philip Bourke Marston

1850 to 1887

Poem Image

Thy lips are quiet, and thine eyes are still; 
Cold, colorless, and sad thy placid face; 
Thy form has only now the statue's grace; 
My words wake not thy voice, nor can they fill 
Thine eyes with light. Before fate's mighty will, 
Our wills must bow; yet for a little space, 
I sit with thee and death, in this lone place. 
And hold thy hands that are so white and chill. 

I always loved thee, though thou didst not know; 
But well he knew whose wedded love thou wert: 
Now thou art dead, I may raise up the fold 
That hides thy face, and, o'er thee bending low, 
For the first time and last before we part, 
Kiss the curved lips — calm, beautiful, and cold!