In “Jewels,” Sara Teasdale’s speaker imagines looking again into a former lover’s eyes and being carried back through a handful of vivid, precious memories: a snowy morning with sapphire shadows, a spring moment beneath oak trees, a sunlit mountain crest. Each scene is described like a gem—sapphire, amethyst, diamond—so the memories themselves feel bright and valuable. Yet the speaker decides to turn her eyes away, comparing herself to a woman putting away jewels she wore at night but cannot wear in sober day. The mood is wistful and restrained: the past is beautiful, but it belongs to another, more passionate time, and the speaker chooses not to wear it into ordinary life. There is sadness in that refusal, but also quiet self-protection.
Jewels — Summary
If I should see your eyes again, I know how far their look would go-- Back to a morning in the park With sapphire shadows on the snow.
Or back to oak trees in the spring When you unloosed my hair and kissed The head that lay against your knees In the leaf shadow's amethyst.
And still another shining place We would remember--how the dun Wild mountain held us on its crest One diamond morning white with sun.
But I will turn my eyes from you As women turn to put away The jewels they have worn at night And cannot wear in sober day.