Wakeful They Lie

This poem is one of my favorites of all times. It has a strange effect when read aloud, but subtly and slowly. Doing so reveals a rhythm to the poem that is at once troubled and troubling... It has the rhythm of slow, anxious heart beats.
The poem just awakened in my memory today, so I blog this...
It's a bit disconcerting that the poet's surname is rather grave.


Counting the Beats
 
You, love, and I,
(He whispers) you and I,
And if no more than only you and I
What care you or I?
 
Counting the beats,
Counting the slow heart beats,
The bleeding to death of time in slow heart beats,
Wakeful they lie.
 
Cloudless day,
Night, and a cloudless day;
Yet the huge storm will burst upon their heads one day
From a bitter sky.
 
Where shall we be,
(She whispers) where shall we be,
When death strikes home, O where then shall we be
Who were you and I?
 
Not there but here,
(He whispers) only here,
As we are, here, together, now and here,
Always you and I.
 
Counting the beats,
Counting the slow heart beats,
The bleeding to death of time in slow heart beats,
Wakeful they lie.


By Robert Graves