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"source_sha256": "bd27ab13fc9312074b7aaf2ae24e4c8166a959d15f3839d4e6c13399cbaa8433",
"source_title": "The Hour and the Ghost",
"tts_title": "The Hour and the Ghost",
"kind": "story",
"canonical_url": "https://ririro.com/poems/the-hour-and-the-ghost/",
"slug": "the-hour-and-the-ghost",
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"section_slug": "poems",
"title": "The Hour and the Ghost",
"author": null,
"publisher_label": "Ririro",
"source_version": "unknown",
"content_type": "poem",
"language": "en",
"summary": "A dramatic lyric unfolds as a bride, her living groom, and the spectral voice of a past lover speak in alternation, revealing the bride’s agonizing tug between present security and a haunting past; the ghost entices her back with promises rooted in old vows and shared death, the groom pleads for calm and faithfulness, and the bride vacillates—clinging briefly to her husband while confessing guilt and fearing the ghost’s claim on her spirit; the poem explores themes of memory, temptation, and the destructive aftermath of former passion, ending with the ghost’s bitter prophecy that if she yields she will condemn herself and her husband to cold loss and exile, showing how unresolved past love can erode present bonds and bring emotional ruin.",
"clean_summary": "A dramatic lyric unfolds as a bride, her living groom, and the spectral voice of a past lover speak in alternation, revealing the bride's agonizing tug between present security and a haunting past; the ghost entices her back with promises rooted in old vows and shared death, the groom pleads for calm and faithfulness, and the bride vacillates - clinging briefly to her husband while confessing guilt and fearing the ghost's claim on her spirit; the poem explores themes of memory, temptation, and the destructive aftermath of former passion, ending with the ghost's bitter prophecy that if she yields she will condemn herself and her husband to cold loss and exile, showing how unresolved past love can erode present bonds and bring emotional ruin.",
"body": [
"O love, love, hold me fast, He draws me away from thee; I cannot stem the blast, Nor the cold strong sea: Far away a light shines Beyond the hills and pines; It is lit for me.",
"Bridegroom",
"I have thee close, my dear, No terror can come near; Only far off the northern light shines clear.",
"Ghost",
"Come with me, fair and false, To our home, come home. It is my voice that calls: Once thou wast not afraid When I woo’d, and said, ‘Come, our nest is newly made’— Now cross the tossing foam.",
"Bride",
"Hold me one moment longer! He taunts me with the past, His clutch is waxing stronger; Hold me fast, hold me fast. He draws me from thy heart, And I cannot withhold: He bids my spirit depart With him into the cold:— Oh bitter vows of old!",
"Bridegroom",
"Lean on me, hide thine eyes: Only ourselves, earth and skies, Are present here: be wise.",
"Ghost",
"Lean on me, come away, I will guide and steady: Come, for I will not stay: Come, for house and bed are ready. Ah sure bed and house, For better and worse, for life and death, Goal won with shortened breath! Come, crown our vows.",
"Bride",
"One moment, one more word, While my heart beats still, While my breath is stirred By my fainting will. O friend, forsake me not, Forget not as I forgot: But keep thy heart for me, Keep thy faith true and bright; Through the lone cold winter night Perhaps I may come to thee.",
"Bridegroom",
"Nay peace, my darling, peace: Let these dreams and terrors cease: Who spoke of death or change or aught but ease?",
"Ghost",
"O fair frail sin, O poor harvest gathered in! Thou shalt visit him again To watch his heart grow cold: To know the gnawing pain I knew of old; To see one much more fair Fill up the vacant chair, Fill his heart, his children bear; While thou and I together, In the outcast weather, Toss and howl and spin."
],
"body_text": "O love, love, hold me fast, He draws me away from thee; I cannot stem the blast, Nor the cold strong sea: Far away a light shines Beyond the hills and pines; It is lit for me.\n\nBridegroom\n\nI have thee close, my dear, No terror can come near; Only far off the northern light shines clear.\n\nGhost\n\nCome with me, fair and false, To our home, come home. It is my voice that calls: Once thou wast not afraid When I woo’d, and said, ‘Come, our nest is newly made’— Now cross the tossing foam.\n\nBride\n\nHold me one moment longer! He taunts me with the past, His clutch is waxing stronger; Hold me fast, hold me fast. He draws me from thy heart, And I cannot withhold: He bids my spirit depart With him into the cold:— Oh bitter vows of old!\n\nBridegroom\n\nLean on me, hide thine eyes: Only ourselves, earth and skies, Are present here: be wise.\n\nGhost\n\nLean on me, come away, I will guide and steady: Come, for I will not stay: Come, for house and bed are ready. Ah sure bed and house, For better and worse, for life and death, Goal won with shortened breath! Come, crown our vows.\n\nBride\n\nOne moment, one more word, While my heart beats still, While my breath is stirred By my fainting will. O friend, forsake me not, Forget not as I forgot: But keep thy heart for me, Keep thy faith true and bright; Through the lone cold winter night Perhaps I may come to thee.\n\nBridegroom\n\nNay peace, my darling, peace: Let these dreams and terrors cease: Who spoke of death or change or aught but ease?\n\nGhost\n\nO fair frail sin, O poor harvest gathered in! Thou shalt visit him again To watch his heart grow cold: To know the gnawing pain I knew of old; To see one much more fair Fill up the vacant chair, Fill his heart, his children bear; While thou and I together, In the outcast weather, Toss and howl and spin.",
"clean_body": [
"O love, love, hold me fast, He draws me away from thee; I cannot stem the blast, Nor the cold strong sea: Far away a light shines Beyond the hills and pines; It is lit for me.",
"Bridegroom",
"I have thee close, my dear, No terror can come near; Only far off the northern light shines clear.",
"Ghost",
"Come with me, fair and false, To our home, come home. It is my voice that calls: Once thou wast not afraid When I woo'd, and said, 'Come, our nest is newly made' - Now cross the tossing foam.",
"Bride",
"Hold me one moment longer! He taunts me with the past, His clutch is waxing stronger; Hold me fast, hold me fast. He draws me from thy heart, And I cannot withhold: He bids my spirit depart With him into the cold: - Oh bitter vows of old!",
"Bridegroom",
"Lean on me, hide thine eyes: Only ourselves, earth and skies, Are present here: be wise.",
"Ghost",
"Lean on me, come away, I will guide and steady: Come, for I will not stay: Come, for house and bed are ready. Ah sure bed and house, For better and worse, for life and death, Goal won with shortened breath! Come, crown our vows.",
"Bride",
"One moment, one more word, While my heart beats still, While my breath is stirred By my fainting will. O friend, forsake me not, Forget not as I forgot: But keep thy heart for me, Keep thy faith true and bright; Through the lone cold winter night Perhaps I may come to thee.",
"Bridegroom",
"Nay peace, my darling, peace: Let these dreams and terrors cease: Who spoke of death or change or aught but ease?",
"Ghost",
"O fair frail sin, O poor harvest gathered in! Thou shalt visit him again To watch his heart grow cold: To know the gnawing pain I knew of old; To see one much more fair Fill up the vacant chair, Fill his heart, his children bear; While thou and I together, In the outcast weather, Toss and howl and spin."
],
"clean_text": "O love, love, hold me fast, He draws me away from thee; I cannot stem the blast, Nor the cold strong sea: Far away a light shines Beyond the hills and pines; It is lit for me.\n\nBridegroom\n\nI have thee close, my dear, No terror can come near; Only far off the northern light shines clear.\n\nGhost\n\nCome with me, fair and false, To our home, come home. It is my voice that calls: Once thou wast not afraid When I woo'd, and said, 'Come, our nest is newly made' - Now cross the tossing foam.\n\nBride\n\nHold me one moment longer! He taunts me with the past, His clutch is waxing stronger; Hold me fast, hold me fast. He draws me from thy heart, And I cannot withhold: He bids my spirit depart With him into the cold: - Oh bitter vows of old!\n\nBridegroom\n\nLean on me, hide thine eyes: Only ourselves, earth and skies, Are present here: be wise.\n\nGhost\n\nLean on me, come away, I will guide and steady: Come, for I will not stay: Come, for house and bed are ready. Ah sure bed and house, For better and worse, for life and death, Goal won with shortened breath! Come, crown our vows.\n\nBride\n\nOne moment, one more word, While my heart beats still, While my breath is stirred By my fainting will. O friend, forsake me not, Forget not as I forgot: But keep thy heart for me, Keep thy faith true and bright; Through the lone cold winter night Perhaps I may come to thee.\n\nBridegroom\n\nNay peace, my darling, peace: Let these dreams and terrors cease: Who spoke of death or change or aught but ease?\n\nGhost\n\nO fair frail sin, O poor harvest gathered in! Thou shalt visit him again To watch his heart grow cold: To know the gnawing pain I knew of old; To see one much more fair Fill up the vacant chair, Fill his heart, his children bear; While thou and I together, In the outcast weather, Toss and howl and spin.",
"tts_chunks": [
"O love, love, hold me fast, He draws me away from thee; I cannot stem the blast, Nor the cold strong sea: Far away a light shines Beyond the hills and pines; It is lit for me.",
"Bridegroom",
"I have thee close, my dear, No terror can come near; Only far off the northern light shines clear.",
"Ghost",
"Come with me, fair and false, To our home, come home. It is my voice that calls: Once thou wast not afraid When I woo'd, and said, 'Come, our nest is newly made' - Now cross the tossing foam.",
"Bride",
"Hold me one moment longer! He taunts me with the past, His clutch is waxing stronger; Hold me fast, hold me fast. He draws me from thy heart, And I cannot withhold: He bids my spirit depart With him into the cold: - Oh bitter vows of old!",
"Bridegroom",
"Lean on me, hide thine eyes: Only ourselves, earth and skies, Are present here: be wise.",
"Ghost",
"Lean on me, come away, I will guide and steady: Come, for I will not stay: Come, for house and bed are ready. Ah sure bed and house, For better and worse, for life and death, Goal won with shortened breath! Come, crown our vows.",
"Bride",
"One moment, one more word, While my heart beats still, While my breath is stirred By my fainting will. O friend, forsake me not, Forget not as I forgot: But keep thy heart for me, Keep thy faith true and bright; Through the lone cold winter night Perhaps I may come to thee.",
"Bridegroom",
"Nay peace, my darling, peace: Let these dreams and terrors cease: Who spoke of death or change or aught but ease?",
"Ghost",
"O fair frail sin, O poor harvest gathered in! Thou shalt visit him again To watch his heart grow cold: To know the gnawing pain I knew of old; To see one much more fair Fill up the vacant chair, Fill his heart, his children bear; While thou and I together, In the outcast weather, Toss and howl and spin."
],
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"slug": "christina-georgina-rossetti",
"title": "Christina Georgina Rossetti",
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