In this poem Sir Stanley Coulton reveals his state of mind in the aftermath of a fiery argument with his beloved Dorothea. She leaves so fast that her breath hangs in the air, the creak of the shutting door can still be heard as can be her retreating footsteps. Most tellingly we see the influence of his time on the North York Moors in the final stanza. There is a supernatural edge to this with her spirit still in the room with him even though she has gone. Some say that this poem forshadowed her tragic demise, indeed it had such a horrid resonance that he refused to perform it after her death.
The glass you held is full
Because you left so swift.
Your breath hangs in the air,
My own breath makes it drift.
The door is swinging shut,
The creak still sounding out.
Your footsteps echo loud,
Your presence is in doubt.
I know you ran so fast,
Far across the meadow.
For even though you're gone,
There remains your shadow.
