Edna St.Vincent Millay

Today we note the birth date of Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950), American poet and playwright who received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1923.

Millay's fame began in 1912 when she entered her poem Renascence in a poetry contest in The Lyric Year. Her 1920 collection A Few Figs From Thistles drew controversy for its exploration of female sexuality and feminism.

Millay won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1923 for The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver.

Here is one of her poems for your consideration:

What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, And Where, And Why (Sonnet Xliii)

What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why,
I have forgotten, and what arms have lain
Under my head till morning; but the rain
Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh
Upon the glass and listen for reply,
And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain
For unremembered lads that not again
Will turn to me at midnight with a cry.
Thus in winter stands the lonely tree,
Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one,
Yet knows its boughs more silent than before:
I cannot say what loves have come and gone,
I only know that summer sang in me
A little while, that in me sings no more.
--Edna St. Vincent Millay