Sign in with Facebook
Ulysse's Reviews > Bruges-La-Morte
Bruges-La-Morte
by
Lately I’ve taken to roaming
The streets of a city so dead
That even the sea and her moaning
Long since have retreated and fled
Along old canals where the waters
Lie still ‘neath a low sullen sky
Th’ occasional soft pitter patter
Can be heard of the lone passerby
Here I walk every night of my grieving
A shade among shades in the dark
With the image of mine own true Darling
Locked deep in the shades of my heart
A long tress keep I of her golden
Hair in a showcase of glass
Which I placed near my bed on the morning
Her soul from her body did pass
Every night before falling asleep
The braid I remove from its case
And holding it close to my lips
I recall Her angelical face
One evening as I was out walking
My thoughts in a halo of frost
I happened to look at one passing
—A creature of flesh or a ghost?
O Mary O Mother of Jesus
I swear it was She that I saw
Clear as the star-sheen above us
It was my Beloved I saw!
Well that’s about all for this review
I won’t give the ending away
For everyone knows that a spoiler
Is a crime worse than foregoing (view spoiler)
Two stars is the rating I give this
And that is a generous rating
For this is a book I shan’t miss
Nor end up loving or hating
by
Ulysse's review
bookshelves: 19th-century, 2021, la-belgitude, short-stories-tales-novellas, re-verse-views
Jul 15, 2021
bookshelves: 19th-century, 2021, la-belgitude, short-stories-tales-novellas, re-verse-views
Lately I’ve taken to roaming
The streets of a city so dead
That even the sea and her moaning
Long since have retreated and fled
Along old canals where the waters
Lie still ‘neath a low sullen sky
Th’ occasional soft pitter patter
Can be heard of the lone passerby
Here I walk every night of my grieving
A shade among shades in the dark
With the image of mine own true Darling
Locked deep in the shades of my heart
A long tress keep I of her golden
Hair in a showcase of glass
Which I placed near my bed on the morning
Her soul from her body did pass
Every night before falling asleep
The braid I remove from its case
And holding it close to my lips
I recall Her angelical face
One evening as I was out walking
My thoughts in a halo of frost
I happened to look at one passing
—A creature of flesh or a ghost?
O Mary O Mother of Jesus
I swear it was She that I saw
Clear as the star-sheen above us
It was my Beloved I saw!
Well that’s about all for this review
I won’t give the ending away
For everyone knows that a spoiler
Is a crime worse than foregoing (view spoiler)
Two stars is the rating I give this
And that is a generous rating
For this is a book I shan’t miss
Nor end up loving or hating
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read
Bruges-La-Morte.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
Started Reading
July 15, 2021
– Shelved
July 15, 2021
– Shelved as:
19th-century
July 15, 2021
– Shelved as:
2021
July 15, 2021
– Shelved as:
la-belgitude
July 15, 2021
– Shelved as:
short-stories-tales-novellas
July 15, 2021
–
Finished Reading
January 24, 2022
– Shelved as:
re-verse-views
Comments Showing 1-6 of 6 (6 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Ilse
(new)
-
added it
Jul 15, 2021 06:10AM
Thanks for sugarcoating this bitter pill of disappointment so wittily, Ulysse - I am sorry this didn't resonate with you more, I hope to finally read it this year (did you ever try the beer named after the author?)
reply
|
flag
Perhaps I've been a tad unfair with this book, Ilse. Maybe the timing was wrong. I blame it all on myself. Still, it was a pretext to versify, and for that I am grateful. I can't recall having tasted Rodenbach beer. Then again one can never be too sure of these things. There have been many memorable nights of beuveries bruxelloises that I simply cannot remember ;)
Glad the resident versifier is back on the job!
Fionnuala wrote: "Glad the resident versifier is back on the job!"Thanks for the hearty welcome, Fionnuala. As Thomas Hardy used to say: use a plough or versify, there is no other life.
I fell under the spell of Rodenbach's sad tale of woe and ghosts, maybe because I read it while meandering the touristy streets of Bruges, but I enjoyed your ode to how little it impressed you, Ulysse.
Dolors wrote: "I fell under the spell of Rodenbach's sad tale of woe and ghosts, maybe because I read it while meandering the touristy streets of Bruges, but I enjoyed your ode to how little it impressed you, Uly..."Thank you kindly, Dolors. Reading the book while wandering the streets of Bruges must really have added an extra dimension to your experience. It's like when I read Pessoa's Book of Disquietude while visiting Lisbon one rainy winter. The perfect place, the perfect moment, the perfect atmosphere. Our reading life is occasionally blessed with such serendipity!
