Grey Evening

Read 'Grey Evening' by 'D. H. Lawrence' and provide your summary and literary analysis in the comments section below.

Grey Evening by D. H. Lawrence

 When you went, how was it you carried with you
My missal book of fine, flamboyant hours? 
My book of turrets and of red-thorn bowers, 
And skies of gold, and ladies in bright tissue?

Now underneath a blue-grey twilight, heaped
Beyond the withering snow of the shorn fields 
Stands rubble of stunted houses; all is reaped
And garnered that the golden daylight yields. 

Dim lamps like yellow poppies glimmer among
The shadowy stubble of the under-dusk,
As farther off the scythe of night is swung, 
And little stars come rolling from their husk. 

And all the earth is gone into a dust 
Of greyness mingled with a fume of gold, 
Covered with aged lichens, past with must,
And all the sky has withered and gone cold.

And so I sit and scan the book of grey, 
Feeling the shadows like a blind man reading,
All fearful lest I find the last words bleeding 
With wounds of sunset and the dying day.

Form: Enclosed Rhyme Comments

Comments About This Poem

Share your interpretation, favorite passage, or thoughts about this famous poem. Please provide an in-depth and meaningful comment.

  • What do you think the poet was trying to say?
  • Which line had the biggest impact on you?
  • How does this poem relate to modern life?
  • What literary devices did you notice?
No comments have been posted yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.
Get a Premium Membership
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace