The Phantom-Wooer by Thomas Lovell Beddoes
I.
A ghost, that loved a lady fair,
Ever in the starry air
Of midnight at her pillow stood;
And, with a sweetness skies above
The luring words of human love,
Her soul the phantom wooed.
Sweet and sweet is their poisoned note,
The little snakes’ of silver throat,
In mossy skulls that nest and lie,
Ever singing “die, oh! die.”
II.
Young soul put off your flesh, and come
With me into the quiet tomb,
Our bed is lovely, dark, and sweet;
The earth will swing us, as she goes,
Beneath our coverlid of snows,
And the warm leaden sheet.
Dear and dear is their poisoned note,
The little snakes’ of silver throat,
In mossy skulls that nest and lie,
Ever singing “die, oh! die.”
2 replies on “Poetry Friday: The Phantom Wooer”
I wonder what made you choose this? Last month when I decided to pick up and reread an old favorite, Tryst by Elswyth Thane, I found a notecard inside (not in my writing) with this very poem. Some former NYPL reader must have left it. I did mention it in my review which I suppose you might have seen. I wonder if Elswyth knew it! She did enjoy a little supernatural aspect in a few of her other books but nothing else as blatant as in Tryst, which some dislike for that reason.
I definitely recall you mentioning Thane’s books before, and also the notecard. But I didn’t remember it was this same poem! I was reading Kipling’s “The Vampire” and Walter de La Mare’s “The Listeners”, and Beddoes’ work (and his fascination with death) came up as readalikes for the R.I.P. 2020 Book Challenge. If this was a coincidence, it’s quite spooky. 🙂 And if Tryst has a supernatural aspect, then definitely want to try that out first – thanks for letting me know!