Poem by Richard Watson Gilder

The New Day. Part 3. 28. Francesca and Paolo

Within the second dolorous circle where
⁠     The lost are whirled, lamenting—thou and I
⁠     Stood, Love, to-day with Dante. Silently
⁠     We looked upon the black and trembling air;
When lo! from out that darkness of despair
⁠     Two shadows, light upon the wind, drew nigh,
⁠     Whose very motion seemed to breathe a sigh—
     ⁠And there Francesca, and her lover there.
These when we saw, the wounds whereat they bled,
     ⁠Their love which was not with their bodies slain—
     ⁠These when we saw, great were the tears we shed;
As, Love, for thee and me love's tears shall rain—
     The mortal agony; the nameless dread;
⁠     The longing, and the passion, and the pain.

1. The New Day. Part 3. 11. “Once Only”
2. The New Day. Part 4. 2. The Mirror
3. The New Day. Part 4. 17. “He Knows Not the Path of Duty”
4. The New Day. Part 4. 16. “Love Is Not Bond to Any Man”
5. The New Day. Part 4. 7. Song (Years have flown since I knew thee first)

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