Picture Show (Sassoon collection)/Parted

by Siegfried Sassoon

For works with similar titles, see Parted.

PARTED

 

Sleepless I listen to the surge and droneAnd drifting roar of the town's undertone;Till through quiet falling rain I hear the bellsTolling and chiming their brief tune that tellsDay's midnight end. And from the day that's overNo flashes of delight I can recover;But only dreary winter streets, and facesOf people moving in loud clanging places:And I in my loneliness, longing for you...

For all I did to-day, and all I'll doTo-morrow, in this city of intenseArteried activities that throb and strive,Is but a beating down of that suspenseWhich holds me from your arms.I am aliveOnly that I may find you at the endOf these slow-striking hours I toil to spend,Putting each one behind me, knowing but this—That all my days are turning toward your kiss; That all expectancy awaits the deepConsoling passion of your eyes, that keepTheir radiance for my coming, and their peaceFor when I find in you my love's release.