Could He Have Known Comments

This has the eerie feel of a gothic novel. I am afraid to read more in this vein, yet there is a tempting frisson and I probably will read more. I will turn out all the lights late one night, except for a small lamp near my desk, and surrender to the shudder. (Actually, I hope this is not representative of the poet's oeuvre, because that would be too sad.) The meaning of /shroud of peace/ is reversed, is a Poe-like way, so that the narrator's interment drags on with no relief from eternal pangs of regret. The serious issue confronted here is a gray area that is close to rape but perhaps not legally provable as rape. This is manipulation of someone's tender feelings.