Linger now with me, thou Beauty, <br /> On the sharp archaic shore. <br />Surely 'tis a wastrel's duty <br /> And the gods could ask no more. <br />If thou lingerest when I linger, <br /> If thou tread'st the stones I tread, <br />Thou wilt stay my spirit's hunger <br /> And dispel the dreams I dread. <br /> <br />Come thou, love, my own, my only, <br /> Through the battlements of Groan; <br />Lingering becomes so lonely <br /> When one lingers on one's own. <br /> <br />I have lingered in the cloisters <br /> Of the Northern Wing at night, <br />As the sky unclasped its oysters <br /> On the midnight pearls of light; <br />For the long remorseless shadows <br /> Chilled me with exquisite fear. <br />I have lingered in cold meadows <br /> Through a month of rain, my dear. <br /> <br />Come, my Love, my sweet, my Only, <br /> Through the parapets of Groan. <br />Lingering can be very lonely <br /> When one lingers on one's own. <br /> <br />In dark alcoves I have lingered <br /> Conscious of dead dynasties; <br />I have lingered in blue cellars <br /> And in hollow trunks of trees. <br />Many a traveler through moonlight <br /> Passing by a winding stair <br />Or a cold and crumbling archway <br /> Has been shocked to see me there. <br /> <br />I have longed for thee, my Only, <br /> Hark! the footsteps of the Groan! <br />Lingering is so very lonely <br /> When one lingers all alone. <br /> <br />Will thou come with me, and linger? <br /> And discourse with me of those <br />Secret things the mystic finger <br /> Points to, but will not disclose? <br />When I'm all alone, my glory <br /> Always fades, because I find <br />Being lonely drives the splendour <br /> Of my vision from my mind. <br /> <br />Come, oh, come, my own! my Only! <br /> Through the Gormenghast of Groan. <br />Lingering has become so lonely <br /> As I linger all alone!<br /><br />Mervyn Peake<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/linger-now-with-me-thou-beauty/
