Image Text Author Marc-André Raffalovich Year 1895 Description Raffalovich published the following poem during the same period where he ran a salon in London. It was here where Raffalovich met his life-long partner, John Gray, through his friend Oscar Wilde. This poem describes the narrator falling in love with a man, an act considered both illegal and immoral at the time. The abab rhyme scheme creates an innocent sing-song effect, while the emphasis on the pleasures of Love create juxtaposition with the ideas of Vice, Crime, and Sin. Text The lips of Vice were painted, The face of Vice was white, Love passed on unacquainted, Intent on Love's delight. And though Love's heart beat faster Beneath the eyes of Crime, His breath he strove to master, And hummed a foolish rhyme. But when the sun was shining Love reached a shadowy place, And there at last reclining Sin had his true love's face. Title of volume of first printing The Thread and the Path. [Poems.]. Publisher David Nutt Citation White, Chris, editor. Nineteenth-century Writings on Homosexuality: A Sourcebook. Routledge, 1999.
