When we Two parted

George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron. 1788–1824

When we Two parted

When we two parted
In silence and tears,
Half broken-hearted
To sever for years,
Pale grew thy cheek and cold,
Colder thy kiss;
Truly that hour foretold
Sorrow to this.

The dew of the morning
Sunk chill on my brow—
It felt like the warning
Of what I feel now.
Thy vows are all broken,
And light is thy fame:
I hear thy name spoken,
And share in its shame.

They name thee before me,
A knell to mine ear;
A shudder comes o'er me—
Why wert thou so dear?
They know not I knew thee,
Who knew thee too well:
Long, long shall I rue thee,
Too deeply to tell.

In secret we met—
In silence I grieve,
That thy heart could forget,
Thy spirit deceive.
If I should meet thee
After long years,
How should I greet thee?
With silence and tears.

http://www.poetry.com/greatestpoems/poem.asp?title=When+We+Two+Parted&author=George+Gordon%2C+Lord+Byron
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This poem reminds me of the famous tragic love story Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Since it uses fifteenth century English words(‘thee’, ‘thy’, ‘wert’) and the story is about two lovers who are part from each other. The poem is very descriptive; I was able to draw pictures in my head. It is their last encounter thus they stand in front of each other just gazing. I realize ‘silence and tears’ are seen in the first and second stanza. The two lovers breaks up in ‘silence and tears’ and if they meet again, they will still be in ‘silence and tears.’ It is hard to figure out if the speaker is a woman or a man.