A Requiem

by Ernest Christopher Dowson — a poem card from Justes Mots

An elegy for the figure of Neobule, who has died and found rest in the underworld. Dowson balances tenderness with acceptance, imagining the deceased as finally at peace after the weariness of earthly life and love. Classical allusions and repetition create a haunting quality appropriate for memorial occasions.

Neobule, being tired,
Far too tired to laugh or weep,
From the hours, rosy and gray,
Hid her golden face away.
Neobule, fain of sleep,
Slept at last as she desired!

Neobule! is it well,…

Themes: sympathy · grief · reflection