The Lover Asks Forgiveness
Because Of His Many Moods
If this importunate heart trouble your peace With words lighter than air, Or hopes that in mere hoping flicker and cease; Crumple the rose in your hair; And cover your lips with odorous twilight and say, 'O Hearts of wind-blown flame! O Winds, older than changing of night and day, That murmuring and longing came From marble cities loud with tabors of old In dove-grey faery lands; From battle-banners, fold upon purple fold, Queens wrought with glimmering hands; That saw young Niamh hover with love-lorn face Above the wandering tide; And lingered in the hidden desolate place Where the last Phoenix died, And wrapped the flames above his holy head; And still murmur and long: O piteous Hearts, changing till change be dead In a tumultuous song': And cover the pale blossoms of your breast With your dim heavy hair, And trouble with a sigh for all things longing for rest The odorous twilight there.
The Lover Asks Forgiveness - meaning Summary
A Plea for Indulgent Love
The poem is a speaker’s plea for indulgence toward his changeable affections. He asks a beloved to dismiss his airy words and fading hopes and instead cloak herself in twilight and compassion. Mythic echoes — winds, faery cities, Niamh, and the phoenix — frame recurring longing and transformation. The speaker urges gentle acceptance of restless desire, asking the beloved to soften her breast and answer with a forgiving sigh.
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