Beatrice M. Murphy, "The Parting" (1928)
By Beatrice M. Murphy
‘Tis not the parting
That means so much.
Ah! No!—
It is the frequent
After meetings
That carry
The deeper sting.
When your eyes meet mine
(Those eyes once full of love)
In a chilling stare—
When your lips say
A curt “good day”
(Those lips that once clung to mine)—
When your arms
(That held me once in such a tight embrace)
Are raised now
Only to tip your hat
Or for formal handshakes—
When we meet again
At the old trysting places
Among the old
Familiar scenes
And cannot recall
Even by a glance
The sweet memories
That flock about us
As bees about honey—
Ah! these! These
Hold the deeper sting!
Published in The Crisis, May 1928