Walter de la Mare (25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956) was an English writer best known for his childrens’ works, psychological horror stories, and poetry (he also wrote plays and non-fiction). According to the Poetry Foundation, he’s “is considered one of modern literature’s chief exemplars of the romantic imagination. His complete works form a sustained treatment of romantic themes: dreams, death, rare states of mind and emotion, fantasy worlds of childhood, and the pursuit of the transcendent.” That entire description is perfectly exemplified by his 1913 poem below, which invokes fantasies, longing, and ghosts. Merry Creepy Christmas!
Mistletoe
Walter de la Mare (1913)
Sitting under the mistletoe
(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),
One last candle burning low,
All the sleepy dancers gone,
Just one candle burning on,
Shadows lurking everywhere:
Some one came, and kissed me there.
Tired I was; my head would go
Nodding under the mistletoe
(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),
No footsteps came, no voice, but only,
Just as I sat there, sleepy, lonely,
Stooped in the still and shadowy air
Lips unseen—and kissed me there.
Want more haunting poetry?
Baudelaire’s Naughty Ghost
