January 11, 2014
El Beso
by Angelina Weld Grimk�
 

Twilight--and you 
Quiet--the stars; 
Snare of the shine of your teeth, 
Your provocative laughter, 
The gloom of your hair; 
Lure of you, eye and lip; 
Yearning, yearning, 
Languor, surrender; 
Your mouth, 
And madness, madness, 
Tremulous, breathless, flaming, 
The space of a sigh; 
Then awakening--remembrance, 
Pain, regret--your sobbing; 
And again, quiet--the stars, 
Twilight--and you.
 
 

Today's poem is in the public domain.

About This Poem 

Angelina Weld Grimk�'s "El Beso" was first published in 1909 and became Grimk�'s first widely anthologized poem. This lyric meditation expresses a sense of isolation and desire.

Poetry by Grimk�



Selected Works of Angelina Weld Grimke

(Oxford University Press, 1991)

 

 

 

 

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Angelina Weld Grimk� was born on February 27, 1880, in Boston. In addition to being a poet, she was one of the first African American women to have a play publicly performed. Grimk� died in 1958.

 


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