Troth with Death The moon is broken in twain, and half a moon Beyond me lies on the low, still floor of the sky; The other half of the broken coin of troth Is buried away in the dark, where all the dead lie. They buried her half in the grave where they laid her away; Pushed gently away and hidden in the thick of her hair Where it gathered towards the plait, on that very last day; And like a moon unshowing it must still shine there. So half lies on the sky, for a general sign Of the troth with the dead that we are pledged to to keep; Turning its broken edge to the dark, its shine Ends like a broken love, that turns to the dark of sleep. And half lies there in the dark wher the dead all lie Lost and yet still connected; and between the two Strange beams must travel still, for I feel that I Am lit beneath my heart with a half-moon, weird and blue. |