The birds and the stars are above you,
They envy the flower in the grass,

For I, only I, while I love you
Can die as you pass.

(Light clouds veil the stars, growing denser constantly.
The castle bell rings for vespers, and rising, the lady moves

to a corner of the parapet and kneels there.)
L.

Ave Maria! gratia plena, Dominus ----
Voice of the Page (from the foot of the tower.)

My lord, my lord, they call for you at court!
(The knight wakes. It is now quite dark.)

There is a tourney toward; your enemy
Has challenged you. My lord, make haste to come!

(The knight rises and gropes his way toward the stairs.)
K.

I will make haste. Await me where you are.
(To himself.)

There was a lady on this tower with me ----
(He glances around hurriedly but does not see her in the darkness.)

Page.
My lord has far to ride before the dawn!

K. (To himself.)
Why should I tarry?

(To the page.)
Bring my horse and shield!

(He descends. As the noise of his footfall on the stairs dies away,
the lady gropes toward the stairway, then turns suddenly, and going to

the ledge where they have sat, she throws herself over the parapet.)
CURTAIN.

[End of Helen of Troy And Other Poems.]
Sara Teasdale

Sara Teasdale was born in St. Louis, Missouri, where she attended a school
that was founded by the grandfather of another great poet from St. Louis --

T. S. Eliot. She later associated herself more with New York City.
Her first book of poems was "Sonnets to Duse" (1907),

but "Helen of Troy" (1911) was the true launch of her career,
followed by "Rivers to the Sea" (1915), "Love Songs" (1917),

"Flame and Shadow" (1920) and more. Her final volume, "Strange Victory",
is considered by many to be predictive of her suicide.

It is interesting to note that in Teasdale's Collected Works,
about half of the poems in this volume -- some more justly than others --

have been excluded, and most of the rest have been slightly changed.
Most of the poems from this volume which were selected to be included

in "Love Songs" also had some minor changes. This edition preserves
the original readings, but they are not to be considered authoritative.

End

• grandfather [´grænd,fɑ:ðə] n.(外)祖父；祖先 (初中英语单词)
• volume [´vɔlju:m, ´vɑljəm] n.卷；书籍；体积；容量 (初中英语单词)
• slightly [´slaitli] ad.轻微地；细长的 (初中英语单词)
• knight [nait] n.骑士；爵士 (高中英语单词)
• launch [lɔ:ntʃ] vt.发动 n.发射；汽艇 (高中英语单词)
• edition [i´diʃən] n.版本；很相似的 (高中英语单词)
• hurriedly [´hʌridli] ad.仓促地，忙乱地 (英语四级单词)
• stairway [´steəwei] n.楼梯 (英语四级单词)
• justly [´dʒʌstli] ad.公正地，正当地 (英语四级单词)