Author: Ella Wheeler Wilcox

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             They drift down the hall together;
         He smiles in her lifted eyes;
             Like waves of that mighty river,
         The strains of the "Danube" rise.
             They float on its rhythmic measure
         Like leaves on a summer-stream;
             And here, in this scene of pleasure,
         I bury my sweet, dead dream.

             Through the cloud of her dusky tresses,
         Like a star, shines out her face,
             And the form his strong arm presses
         Is sylph like in its grace.
             As a leaf on the bounding river
         Is lost in the seething sea,
             I know that forever and ever
         My dream is lost to me.

             And still the viols are playing
         That grand old wordless rhyme;
             And still those two ate swaying
         In perfect tune and time.
             If the great bassoons that mutter,
         If the clarinets that blow,
             Were given a voice to utter
         The secret things they know,

             Would the lists of the slam who slumber
         On the Danube's battle-plains
             The unknown hosts outnumber
         Who die 'neath the "Danube's" strains?
             Those fall where cannons rattle,
         'Mid the rain of shot and shell;
             But these, in a fiercer battle,
         Find death in the music's swell.

             With the river's roar of passion
         Is blended the dying groan;
             But here, in the halls of fashion,
         Hearts break, and make no moan.
             And the music, swelling and sweeping,
         Like the river, knows it all;
             But none are counting or keeping
         The lists of these who fall.

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Type of Poem: Elegy

Date Written:

Date Published:

Language: English

Keywords: Public Domain

Source: Public Domain Collection

Publisher:

Rights/Permissions: Public Domain

Comments/Notes: This poem presents a poignant exploration of unrequited love, loss, and the harsh reality of social conventions, unified by the central metaphor of the Danube river. The river, with its powerful, sweeping currents, serves as a symbol for both the societal forces that the speaker feels helpless against and the underlying emotional turmoil they experience. The poet's use of the river metaphor is particularly effective in communicating the sense of being overtaken by overwhelming forces.

The poem's structure, alternating between the depiction of a seemingly idyllic dance scene and the speaker's inner feelings of despair, creates a stark contrast that underscores the theme of hidden emotional pain. The poet's use of musical terms throughout the poem works in tandem with the river metaphor to underscore the rhythm of societal expectations and the crushing inevitability of the speaker's heartbreak. The final stanza, with its evocation of unspoken suffering, underscores the poem's overall melancholic tone. The poet's choice to contrast the grandiose imagery of 'halls of fashion' with the silent breaking of hearts further emphasizes the disparity between outward appearances and inner realities, suggesting a critique of societal norms that prioritize appearance over genuine emotion. The poem is imbued with a sense of tragic inevitability, reflecting the speaker's profound sense of loss and unfulfilled desires.