Wednesday, September 15

Old Letters by Poet, Norman Rowland Gale

OLD LETTERS

Last night some yellow letters fell
From out a scrip I found by chance;
Among them was the silent ghost,
The spirit of my first romance:
And in a faint blue envelope
A withered rose long lost to dew
Bore witness to the dashing days
When love was large and wits were few.

Yet standing there all worn and grey
The teardrops quivered in my eyes
To think of Youth's unshaken front,
The forehead lifted to the skies;
How rough a hill my eager feet
Flung backward when upon its crest
I saw the flutter of the lace
The wind awoke on Helen's breast!

How thornless were the roses then
When fresh young eyes and lips were kind
When Cupid in our porches proved
How true the tale that Love is blind!
But Red-and-White and Poverty
Would only mate while shone the May;
Then came a Bag of Golden Crowns
And jingled Red-and-White away.

Grown old and niggard of romance
I wince not much at aught askew,
And often ask my favorite cat
What else had Red-and-White to do?
And here's the bud that rose and sank,
A crimson island on her breast--
Why should I burn it? Once again
Hide, rose, and dream. God send me rest.

Norman Rowland Gale
Norman Rowland Gale was an English poet and story-teller. He served as a reviewer, and spent some time as a schoolmaster. He must have lived a rather private life from March 4, 1862 until October 7, 1942 as there are few biographical details available for us to learn. From about 1885 until his death, he published many books, with his most famous work being the poem The Country Faith, which made publication in the immediate classic Oxford Book of English Verse 1250–1918 (1939 edition). This photograph is purportedly of Norman Rowland Gale, the poet.



The melancholy poem featured in this post is titled Old Letters, and is a constituent of the book
Love Letters of Great Men Vol. 2.



The beautiful painting of the forlorn lady opening this post is from an antique postcard featured on Metropolitan Postcard Club of New York City. The artist is not named, and I see no identifying mark on the image. If you have any information about the artist, please contact me.

About Me

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Portland, Oregon, United States
I am a loving and grateful wife to a wonderful man, and aspire to be ever-more nurturing as Momma to our wonderful little boy. I am inspired by vintage and antique eras, which motivate my personal creativity. I am a Jane-of-all-trades around home, and find pleasure in all manners of good homemaking skills.

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