A WHITE BLOSSOM
by D H Lawrence
A tiny moon as white and small as a single jasmine flower
Leans all alone above my window, on night’s wintry bower,
Liquid as lime-tree blossom, soft as brilliant water or rain
She shines, the one white love of my youth, which all sin cannot stain.
D H Lawrence (1885-1930) was an English author, poet, playwright, essayist and literary critic. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanizing effects of modernity and industrialization. In them, Lawrence confronts issues relating to emotional health and vitality, spontaneity, human sexuality and instinct. (Annotated biography of D H Lawrence courtesy of publicdomainpoems.com, with edits.)
Editor’s Note: D H Lawrence is a name well-known among lovers of poetry, but from time to time a classic is in order! As is often the case for me, the end line of this poem won me over. The idea of a first love, one that becomes idealized and lives on in your heart forever on a pedestal, is a universal concept that Lawrence sums up splendidly with “the one white love of my youth, which all sin cannot stain.”
Want to read more by and about D H Lawrence?
DHLawrence.org
online-literature.com
poets.org
Re: What’s written in your Editor’s Note: ‘A tiny moon as white and small as a single jasmine flower,’ does “that” for me …. I close my eyes and can smell that heaven-scent blossom …. Lovely!
DH Lawrence-the double threat, amazing novelist and poet. Very pretty choice, Sivan.