I came In the blinding sweep Of ecstatic pain, I go In the throbbing pulse Of aching space-- In the eons between I piled upon you Pain on pain Ache on ache And yet as I go I shall know That you will grieve And want me back....
You have freed me-- In opening wide the doors Of flesh You have freed me Of the binding leash. I have climbed the heights Of white disaster My body screaming In the silver crash of passion ... Before you gave yourself To him I had chained myself For you. But when at last You lowered your proud flag In surrender complete You gave me too, as hostage-- And I have wept my joy At the dawn-tipped shrine Of many breasts.
When you poured your love Like molten flame Into the throbbing mold Of her pulsing veins Leaving her blood a river of fire And her arteries channels of light, I hated you ... Hated with that primal hate That has its wells In the flesh of me And the flesh of you And the flesh of her I hated you-- Hated with envy Your mastery of her being ... With one fleshy gesture You pricked the iridescent bubble Of my dreams And so to make Your conquest more sweet I tell you now That I hated you.
Love thy piano, Oh girl, It will give you back Note for note The harmonies of your soul. It will sing back to you The high songs of your heart. It will give As well as take....
You have made my voice A rippling laugh But my heart A crying thing ... ’Tis better thus: A fleeting kiss And then, The dark....
To you, so far away So cold and aloof, To you, who knew me so well, This is my last Grand Gesture This is my last Great Effect And as I go winging Through the black doors of eternity Is that thin sound I hear Your applause?...
Frank Horne was born in 1899 in Brooklyn, New York, and died in 1974. He worked as an optometrist and later as a school administrator and teacher. Horne was associated with the Harlem Renaissance, a period of African American cultural activity in the 1920s and 1930s. His poetry often addresses themes of racial identity, love, and emotional suffering. His poem 'Letters Found Near a Suicide' is widely anthologized. Horne's verse is characterized by its lyrical quality and direct emotional expression. His poems appeared in various periodicals and anthologies during his lifetime. His work is included in collections of African American poetry from the Harlem Renaissance.
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