Despite his short life, Hart Crane (1899-1932) was an accomplished poet, whose work The Bridge is noted as an epic myth that attempted to capture the American experience. Although critics disagree on the importance of The Bridge, most will agree it contains some of America's best lyrics of the time. [ Click to Order Crane's The Bridge (soft $) ]

Exile

My hands have not touched pleasure since your hands, --
No, -- nor my lips freed laughter since 'farewell',
And with the day, distance again expands
Voiceless between us, as an uncoiled shell.

Yet, love endures, though starving and alone.
A dove's wings clung about my heart each night
With surging gentleness, and the blue stone
Set in the tryst-ring has but worn more bright.
---
(c. 1922)

Exile struck me as a well-crafted love poem, whose words and intimacy seem anything but crafted: an honesty not found in many poems, but respected and appreciated when discovered.

Links of Interest:

Crane, Hart
Brief bio-bibliography of this modernist poet, including a hypertext close reading of "The Bridge" and index to criticism.