Bal Saturnien

by Harold Acton (1923) — a poem card from Justes Mots

A speaker observes glamorous dancers at a ball but feels inexplicable sadness despite the merriment around them. The poem reflects on the transience of youth and beauty, symbolized by flickering candles and wilting lilies. It captures the bittersweet awareness of mortality that can strike even in moments of celebration.

I WATCHED the dancers as they twirled
Around the candelabra’d room,
And ladies, diamonded, pearled,
Danced to the big brass jazz-band’s boom.

Rustles of skirts, perfumes that pass,
Faces aglow and eyes that beam;
Floors lucid as a looking-glass,…

Themes: sympathy · grief · reflection