Non Sum Qualis Eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae

by Ernest Dowson

Non Sum Qualis Eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae (translation: "I am not as I was under good Cynara's reign") (1894), alternatively titled Cynara. It inspired author Margaret Mitchell to title her epic 1936 novel, Gone with the Wind, borrowing from the poem's third stanza: "I have forgot much, Cynara! gone with the wind," a reference to erotic loss.

An illustration for the story Non Sum Qualis Eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae by the author Ernest Dowson — Inspiration for Margaret Mitchell's title, 1936

Last night, ah, yesternight, betwixt her lips and mine
  There fell thy shadow, Cynara! thy breath was shed
  Upon my soul between the kisses and the wine;
  And I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
    Yea, I was desolate and bowed my head:
  I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
  
All night upon mine heart I felt her warm heart beat,
  Night-long within mine arms in love and sleep she lay;
  Surely the kisses of her bought red mouth were sweet;
  But I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
    When I awoke and found the dawn was gray:
  I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
  
I have forgot much, Cynara! gone with the wind,
  Flung roses, roses riotously with the throng,
  Dancing, to put thy pale, lost lilies out of mind;
  But I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
    Yea, all the time, because the dance was long:
  I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
  
I cried for madder music and for stronger wine,
  But when the feast is finished and the lamps expire,
  Then falls thy shadow, Cynara! the night is thine;
  And I am desolate and sick of an old passion,
    Yea, hungry for the lips of my desire:
  I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.

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