Poems (Henley)/I gave my heart to a woman

by William Ernest Henley

XXXV I. M. MARGARITÆ SORORI (1886)

A late lark twitters from the quiet skies;And from the west,Where the sun, his day's work ended,Lingers as in content,There falls on the old, grey cityAn influence luminous and serene,A shining peace.

The smoke ascendsIn a rosy-and-golden haze. The spiresShine, and are changed. In the valleyShadows rise. The lark sings on. 'The sun,Closing his benediction, Sinks, and the darkening airThrills with a sense of the triumphing night—Night with her train of starsAnd her great gift of sleep.

So be my passing!My task accomplished and the long day done,My wages taken, and in my heartSome late lark singing,Let me be gathered to the quiet west,The sundown splendid and serene,Death.

1876