Septembral

Here is another poem from Clark Ashton Smith (CAS) that was printed in the Auburn Journal, but never included in a published collection of his verse:


In silence now the purpling summer passes,
The swallows fly;
The failing river scantly glasses,
Where amber twilights wane,
Our dream-long kiss above the flow'rs that die...

Will love at last remain?...
Ever I pray to find--
(Though all the heavens be blind!)
The gold of love and summer in thy hair;
And breathe between thy shadowy breasts again,
In eves of autumn wind,
And flow'rs that failed upon a windless air.


There's an interesting rhyme scheme at work in this poem: ABACB CDDECDE.  The "C" rhymes ("wane", "remain", "again") serve as aural connective tissue between the two stanzas, but they also create a clear rhythm for reading aloud, almost as though these lines were lyrics accompanying a musical staff.

I am not aware of attempts to set CAS' poetry to music - they may exist, but I've not heard them.  "Septembral" makes me think that is an area rife with possibilities!