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Spellbound, by Emily Brontë

Emily Brontë is best known for her novel “Wuthering Heights”, which was published in 1847. She did, however also write poetry one of which, “Spellbound”, is a favourite of mine and is reproduced below:

“The night is darkening round me,
The wild winds coldly blow;
But a tyrant spell has bound me
And I cannot, cannot go.

The giant trees are bending
Their bare boughs weighed with snow.
And the storm is fast descending,
And yet I cannot go.

Clouds beyond clouds above me,
Wastes beyond wastes below;
But nothing drear can move me;
I will not, cannot go”.

I Stood Aside

I stood aside, allowing him to pass,
Along the woodland path.
“Thank you” he said.

I

Dordled,

Allowing

Him

To

Get

Well

Ahead.

 

I seek the company of men
When in the mood
For repartee,
But why do they intrude
On sky,
And tree
And me?

An Ordinary Girl

The paper is peeling
And the ceiling
Is dirty grey.
“How long will you stay?”
He asks. “What will you pay?”
I say.
Shall I be nice
And offer him a lower price?

Its so easy to pretend
To be “a friend”
When you’ve done this for a while.
You smile
And lose yourself in drink
Or think
Of Coins
And gird your loins.

Having wrangled
I lie
Entangled
In the sheet.
“You are sweet”
I say,
Thinking of my pay.

Me in jeans
On the bus, with my university books.
No one looks
At an ordinary girl,
Her head in a whirl
Over forthcoming exams,
And last night’s scenes.