This they know well: The Goddess yet abides.
Though each new lovely woman whom she rides,
Straddling her neck for a year or two or three
Should sink beneath such weight of majesty
And, groping back to humankind, gainsay
The headlong power that whitened all her way
With a broad track of trefoil - leaving you,
Her chosen lover, ever again thrust through
With daggers, your purse rifled, your rings gone -
Nevertheless they call you to live on
To parley with the pure oracular dead,
To hear the wild pack whimpering overhead,
To watch the moon tugging at her cold tides.
The poem consistently reminds the reader of the celestial being commonly
referred to as: the woman. It is about a place in heaven set aside just for the "lovely
new woman." A place that, no matter what hardship that new woman goes
through, will wait there patiently, until she has been readied to accept her fate and
The word "they" is a clear reference to the woman, indicating that deep within
every woman is the knowledge of their heavenly aspect.
Though each new lovely woman whom she rides,
Straddling her neck for a year or two or three
Should sink beneath such weight of majesty...
The grand title of Goddess is bestowed upon and is "new lovely woman," which is
straddled around every neck for "a year or two or three" until the new woman
succumbs to its' power for she is still not ready to bear the weight of the title.
Graves attempts to induce the mindset that women are celestial beings, by
manifesting their heavenly aspect. With words such as "Goddess" and "majesty,"
the mood set is of innocent and high.
...And, groping back to humankind, gainsay
The headlong power that whitened all her way
...