Poetry Archives

A continuing selection of classic and contemporary poems.

Edna St. Vincent Millay

How shall I know, unless I go
  To Cairo and Cathay,
Whether or not this blessed spot
  Is blest in every way?

Now it may be, the flower for me
  Is this beneath my nose;
How shall I tell, unless I smell
  The Carthaginian rose?

The fabric of my faithful love
  No power shall dim or ravel
Whilst I stay here,—but oh, my dear
  If I should ever travel!

Online text © 1998-2008 Poetry X. All rights reserved.
From A Few Figs From Thistles | Harper & Brothers, 1920

What are tags?
Tags, sometimes called “folksonomies,” are words that describe or categorize a poem, like “20th century modernism” or “Italian sonnet”. Tags can help you find poems that have something in common, based on how other people classify them.

« Previous