'Twixt Earth and Stars: Poems

By Radclyffe Hall

This is a collection of poems by Radclyffe Hall, one of the most acclaimed writers of the early 20th century. These poems explore the themes of love, nature, spirituality, and the human experience with exquisite language and imagery. The book contains some of the following poems: In a Garden - If You Were a Rose and I the Sun - Drifting - Love Triumphant - My Rose.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Good Press
• Release date: Dec 6, 2019
• ISBN: 4064066233808

Radclyffe Hall

Radclyffe Hall (1880-1943) was an English poet and novelist. Born to a wealthy English father and an American mother in Bournemouth, Hampshire, Hall was left a sizeable fortune following her parents’ separation in 1882. Raised in a troubled environment, Hall struggled to gain financial independence from her mother and stepfather. As she took control of her inheritance, Hall began dressing in men’s clothing and identifying herself as a “congenital invert.” In 1907, she began a relationship with amateur singer Mabel Batten, who encouraged Hall to pursue a career in literature. By 1917, she had fallen in love with sculptor Una Troubridge, a cousin of Batten’s. After several poetry collections, Hall’s second novel The Unlit Lamp (1924) was published, becoming a bestseller shortly thereafter. Adam’s Breed (1926), a novel about an Italian waiter who abandons modern life, earned Hall the Prix Femina and the James Tait Black Prize, two of the most prestigious awards in world literature. In 1928, Hall’s sixth novel, The Well of Loneliness, was published to widespread controversy for its depiction of lesbian romance. While an obscenity trial in the United Kingdom led to an order that all copies of the novel be destroyed, a lengthy trial in the United States eventually allowed the book’s publication. Recognized as a pioneering figure in lesbian literature, Hall lived in London with Una Troubridge until her death at the age of sixty-three.

Book preview

Radclyffe Hall

'Twixt Earth and Stars: Poems

Published by Good Press, 2022

[e-mail]

EAN 4064066233808

Table of Contents

IN A GARDEN

IF YOU WERE A ROSE AND I WERE THE SUN (Song)

DRIFTING

TO ——

LOVE TRIUMPHANT

MY ROSE

IF ONLY

CONFESSION

SUNLIGHT ON DISTANT HILLS (Ledbury)

MY LOVE

A MEMORY

TO ——

ON THE MOUNTAIN

TO ——

THE PRAYER

IF

A LAMENT

TO ——

THOUGHTS

SHIPS

THE DREAM-CHILD

THE DAY

FROM MY SOUL

WE

TO SINGERS

THE MAY TREE

PURGATORY

TO ——

A SPRING POSY

AWAKENING

SHE IS DEAD

TO ——

THE WHOLE OF IT

A SONG

IF LIKE THE BIRD

A FRAGMENT

AN EVEN PSALM

A BUTTERFLY

DISAPPOINTMENT

TO THE SEA

AFTER ALL?

YOU

REMEMBER

AN ECHO

FLOWER LOVE

THE FOND LOVER

ROSES FALL

A FRAGMENT

DISSATISFACTION

ONE EVENING

TO ——

MY SOUL, THE DEATHLESS

WHAT AM I?

WHAT A PITY!

SONG

TIREDNESS

ON THE LAGOON

A MORNING ON COMO

IN ROME

TO ——

HOPES

A MEMORY

THE RIVER

TO ——

SHALL I COMPLAIN?

TO ——

MISTRESS SPRING (Song)

WHAT'S WRONG?

GENTLE DAME PRISCILLA (Song)

TO THE NIGHTINGALE

A MORNING THOUGHT

TO-DAY

LOVE'S COMMAND

CHANCE MEETING

ITALIAN SPRING

TO ——

THE DIRGE OF A LONELY GARDEN

RESIGNATION

ACCUSATION

A SEA CYCLE

I

II

III

IV

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

XIII

XIV

XV

XVI

BY

MARGUERITE RADCLYFFE-HALL

JOHN AND EDWARD BUMPUS LTD.

350 OXFORD STREET, LONDON, W.

MCMVI

---

DEDICATED TO

MY INSPIRATION

---

I know that through the waves of air,

Some part of all I feel for you,

Must surely travel swift and true,

Towards the heart for which I care

So dumbly, and before it lay

The words my lips shall never say.

---

IN A GARDEN

Table of Contents

In the garden a thousand roses,

A vine of jessamine flower,

Sweetpeas in coquettish poses,

Sweetbrier with its fragrant dower.

There are hollyhocks tall and slender,

And marigolds gay and fair,

And sunflowers in glowing splendour,

Geraniums rich and rare;

And the wee, white, innocent daisy,

Half hidden amid the lawn;

A bee grown drowsy and lazy—

On honey he's drunk since dawn—

Is reposing with wings extended

On some soft, passionate rose,

Aglow with a blush more splendid

Than ever a fair cheek knows.

While a thrush, in the ivy swinging

That clusters over the gate,

Athrob with the spring is singing,

And ardently calls his mate.

For the spirit of all sweet odours

The soul of