UC-NRLF B 3 3Mb 32fl Wmm m m Hi i POEMS m POEMS By STEWART MITCHELL NEW YORK DUFF1ELD & CO. 1921 Copyright, 1921, by STEWART MITCHELL Printed in U. S. A. To MRS. DANIEL HENRY HOLMES a €t A H t •* 4381 [v] ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Several of these poems are reprinted from "Eight Harvard Poets/' Laurence J. Gomme, New York, 191 7, where they ap- peared in slightly different form. "A Fig Tree," "A Lady," "A Character," "Postscript," and "Lorraine," are reprinted by courtesy of the editor of "The Dial." [vii] CONTENTS Astarte: For D. G. P. A Lady . Postscript A Farewell: For E. E. C A Puritan Vision of Life : For G. H. Salutation In Memoriam: For D. H Dust and Shadow : For E Carnival A Character . China A Crucifix A Theorist: To V. U. Sea Side After Love Inscription: For E. M. S Satyricon Leopards Sea Mist: For S. W. Lucretius Prelude . Confessional : For M. S. M. Helen: For G. H. T. Mountain Laurel From a Garden , M. M.J. PAGE 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 io ii 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 29 32 [ix CONTENTS Libation . Invocation Starlight A Greek Neith Autumn . Thalassa A Philosopher April Night Elegy . Expectation A Tower A Fig Tree Easter Dawn The Phoenix An Altar Goldenrod Ego At "Madam Butterfly' Sea Burial Poppies . Wine A Hero . Oasis A Memory Warriors Ipswich Dunes Arabian Nights Departure Lorraine Autumn Evening PAGE 34 36 38 41 42 44 45 47 48 49 50 51 55 57 59 61 63 64 66 67 68 7i 72 73 75 78 79 81 83 84 85 x] POEMS u] ASTARTE For D. G. P. Poised on the crescent moon, she stands serene, Whose eyes from purple into violet pale, As ever she lets fall the drifting veil Clouding her beauty with its twilight sheen; Hers are grey breasts death laid his lips between Lest ever any subtle lover quail Before her kiss, remembering life, and fail To taste the flesh no eyes live, having seen. Remorseless to the end of time, she waits On tides none other ears than hers divine, Knowing all roads lead last unto the gates That swing into the silence of her shrine: Where crushed beneath her feet, once pitiless fates, Like sleeping serpents round her ankles twine. [ 3 A LADY She follows men with calm, sagacious eyes, Watching them falter, looking on her smile; Gazes as never yet were thought so vile, Or lust so strange that she could not surmise; Out of her contemplation seem to rise Visions of vanished life no studied guile Of love made other than a weary while, For her whom sinister gods had wrought so wise. Standing before her face men long for sleep Lulled in the arms of hidden luxuries: Look as through twilight, feel the cool flesh creep, Sensing the touch of sudden mysteries, Strip naked unto grey winds, and plunge steep Into the shadowed coil of treacherous seas. [4] POSTSCRIPT — Considering which, scuttle from dust and heat; Yet not to thought, for ghastly shapes lurk there, Octopus-like, to snatch you by the hair — Better the blinding road and bloody feet. Just between truth and falsehood, lies a neat Scarce travelled path, where your imperial air Might vegetate in vacancy, and dare To taste all passions, buy the best, and eat. First of all wordly wise men spake Saint Paul: Diversities of gifts ? Indeed, there are All manner of gifts — by which men rise or fall. Though neither good nor evil take them far, You, only, should thank God, for not to all A star was given — much less so steady a star. [ s 1 A FAREWELL For E. E. C. Nay: by this desolate sea our troubled ways Shall separate for ever; swift hath sped The hour of youth, and yet to hang the head, Lamenting lost things of departed days, Were only from that shadow land to raise, A wraith, that whispering of the quiet dead, Would mimic the strange life of love; instead, Let us relent and hail the past with praise. Go, then; and should inevitable fate Lead us at last into a world, where men Strive for the laurel and applause no more, Whither the soul takes silence for its mate, There might we meet, and, smiling, once again Clasp hands and part upon some wind-swept shore. Cambridge. [6] A PURITAN Ever toward morning looking, does she stand, Where tides of trade and venture tireless beat Round the firm sanctuary of her feet, Gazing afar with vacant eyes, her bland Bronze lips unconscious of the lifted hand That beckons men unto her judgment seat, Here where the pilgrims of all nations meet, Luring their hearts into her promised land. She will not learn to love men for their strange Unsteady ways — forgets the brave are sprung Out of men proud and wonderful to range The whole world. Hope like hers has never sung, But mutely waits the old, false dawn of change: With eyes that see not, lips that lack their tongue. [7] VISION OF LIFE For G. H. T. Who loves the world is amorous of its pain, Gathers its faded flowers for his own, Pale, fragile petals pitiless winds have blown Over the earth and back to him again; Deep in his heart the desolate refrain Of them who reap where other men have sown Breaks in like boundless waters, as alone He looks on them who harvest the grey plain. Yet ever with the night he seems to see Along the uplands warrior hosts that ride Like gods to battle whither blind fate wills; Then, from a silence, hearkens distantly Tumultuous trumpets sounding — far and wide Waving their scarlet splendour through the hills SALUTATION I would that you were here to-night, your eyes, Speaking a soul of mingled love and fear — Dread such as even gods, they say, hold dear, Love wary of each fortune's swift surprise. Go with me now, if ever : the way lies Through deep, thick darkness where the path drops sheer Into the night of life, whence we shall hear Only confused and troubled voices rise. Yours be my body — of desires as deep As ever have been whispered of the soul; Yours, too, my gods : I would have such as keep A ceaseless vigil, nor relax one toll Of tribute — nor, as better-loved gods, sleep, For that they have appointed each his goal. Camp Sheridan, Alabama. [9] IN MEMORIAM D. H. M. Out of midsummer moonlight at my bed From troubled dreams I thought I saw you rise, And fix me with your unforgotten eyes, Still wonderful, as when you were not dead. And though you only smiled and turned your head Against the bitter scorn of my disguise, Behind the swift despair of your surmise, Pity more terrible than death I read. Then as you looked as if to turn away, Dawn waited on us from the dusk a spell Lest you should whisper of inviolate things; Till down the obscure twilight before day, I heard upon the tide of your farewell A rumour of inevitable wings. ho] DUST AND SHADOW For E. M. J. All scattered souls she gleans unto her sheaf, Inviolate death, grave deity of rest, Before whose eyes all past deeds seem the best That ever might have been, though envious grief Light her proud torch and lustrous in the brief Still time before the night when fades the west Toward where illimitable skies suggest Dear memories of beauty past belief. Even as one to battle come who stands Aloof a spell, beholding friend and foe Clashing in conflict till his soul commands He too, press on whither the trumpets blow, I lift my eyes where over wasted lands, The dust and shadow of life drift to and fro. In] CARNIVAL So much for our romance; where were an end, Of sorrow for those banished sons of earth ? Tears wait on laughter with a sullen mirth, As all things beautiful on dust attend. Sunlight and shadow touch their hearts to blend, Into such doubtful dusk that any dearth Of darkness dooms the truant from his birth To penance against which no hopes defend. Sooner or later; wherefore with calm eyes, And patient hands, and smiling lips they wait, Who do not count themselves in glory wise, Nor serve their tribulation with their hate; The very stars take counsel in the skies, To learn their orbits from the lips of fate. [12] A CHARACTER Only reflected sunlight reached that room, Flashing from western windows — counterfeit Ever the twilight where we two would sit And curse the common rout amid the gloom. Tall candles watched us, though their scented bloom Glowed steadily as if their stolid wit Heard what we said, not making much of it, Stifling, like patient torches in a tomb. Grave Buddha, squatting on a home-made shrine, Looked as if never yet were fact so odd, But thought could make its purposes divine; Seemed to remember others who would nod Approval each to each over their wine — Like mice between the grey paws of their god. [13] CHINA Well may you smile upon their pomp and power; They come and go, these conquerors in their pride; Long since have you beheld such, tide on tide, Beat round your baffling wisdom; they shall lower Only their moment, and you still shall tower Over the restless ages, looking wide Upon their thousand kingdoms that have died — Like Buddha, throned upon his lotus flower. Long since yours was the glory to be strong, Yet for this final peace of bended knees, You have disowned your folly, and made song To Beauty, out of Wisdom's mysteries, As shall the prouder sons of these who throng Upon you, fierce and futile as the seas. [Hi A CRUCIFIX This was the cross of God on which men's eyes Dwelt with the love of dead divinity, As they who by the desolate orient sea In battle made their sainted sacrifice, Dreaming their boundless striving should devise A symbol whereby men might know that he Who wins his way on earth to victory, Thus in his consummated sorrow dies. All things are sacred to that tender sight; Time's ancient altars whence strange incense curled Innocent to the unknown gods; the light Of love is thine; faith's banner is unfurled, Even where the farthest watchmen, through the night, Call on the cloud-wrapped ramparts of the world. [iSl A THEORIST To V. U. They swarm about you with strong speech, and guile That strenuous courage, only, can despise, Bred of the silence of a heart grown wise From doubt and patience through the weary while Their malice has prevailed. Darkness and trial Were bitter folly did their memory rise To scorn the question lurking in your eyes, Or cloud the sunlight of your sudden smile. Knowing from whatsoever all things come In that they have their ending, as their birth, I marvel that you falter not, as some Who wonder yet if any deed be worth The toil of tongues inevitably dumb, Of eyelids heavy with avenging earth. [16] SEA SIDE You will not let me even touch your hair — Not so much please your jester and your fool. Now that your scorn no longer is the school Of uncomplaining prudence and despair? Yours is the chastity of autumn air Blown like the liquid sunlight, clear and cool, Steady as calm eyes resolute to rule With the brave deeds that other men shall dare. The waters tremble where the grey wind sets His blue lips to the body of the sea, Cloud over as your face, now it forgets Some vague pledge common between such as we- Startled to hear my tedious regrets That you it was who were the death of me. 17 AFTER LOVE Till love like wrath between their spirits fell Their feet were swift upon these hills, in haste But to have done with life — skirting the waste And desolate places where no heart would dwell — Lest fate should bid them falter for a spell By waters black and bitter to the taste, They turned to deserts where the winds effaced All that the track of vagrant steps might tell. Not always from the chalice they would choose, Men drink their last of life, even they who dare To smile upon the cup they would refuse; Having come thus, stay you with me, and share Whatever love may chance to gain or lose, Whatever reap of laughter or despair. [18] INSCRIPTION For E. M. S. For memory of those days when, side by side, We heard the sea winds thunder on the sea, Or, stretched on deck beneath the stars, would be One with their loneliness, whilst far and wide Grey moonlight would invade the violet-skied Silence of heaven, even for memory That comes not with so fleet a foot — for me Remember until life be drowsy-eyed. Whenever as with winds shall come the sound Of waters wakened at the touch of dawn Whenever amidst mountains you have found Starlight and solitude to dwell upon, Wherever you shall go the wide world round, The memory of our lost days will have gone. [19 SATYRICON So, too, were sunlight on the startled wings Of gulls that stir and suddenly are gone Seaward to crowd the scarlet gates of dawn With clamour of their plaintive wanderings. Light, utter as the surf of sunrise flings Over the shoals of stars, this day has drawn The veil of time, that Memnon look upon Night of the morning unto which he sings. Negligent of all dreams my spirit stands Forgetting the inveterate feat that sped These feet, unwilling, into wasted lands; Watching grave eyes of laughter at the dead Attend their eager lips with cautious hands — Outwitting death with poison in their bread. 20 LEOPARDS Light-footed leopards, casual and lean, Pace tireless, prisoned in the loneliest part Of the eternal twilight of my heart Where I have stumbled on them — felt their keen Quick bodies touch me, suddenly have seen Numberless narrow eyes that never dart Out of the night except my pulses start For dread of what their watchfulness should mean. That day — so have I said — when I shall fawn Upon their supple strength, when they arise To wait me with their welcome of warm breath, I shall no more lament — though the cool dawn Of beauty never drop upon these eyes — Though my lips hunger for the kiss of death. [21 J SEA MIST For S. W. They come down suddenly, grey wings that yearn To touch the living waters of this sea Yet hover and circle, dreaming there shall be A time when death shall yield them, to discern Shadow from sunlight once again — to burn With the wine of life — its taste the ecstasy They knew of old. Far through eternity, They drift — and wait against that dear return. Theirs is the voice of infinite regret That having once seen love in distant lands, They let her vanish, vainly would forget, Since now their tardy wisdom understands — Haunt these cold mists in terror, having met Strange gods who smile at supplicating hands. Camp Sheridan, Alabama. [22] LUCRETIUS How ever should we turn till passion cease To lord its swaggering mastery over the brain; Till soul and body are no longer twain, But twined together with one life increase, Till out of their embrace a proud release Spring for the spirit from its own disdain, Till pleasure, gathering to her bosom pain, Come penitent at last unto thy peace ? Far out before and after life extend The pleading hands of unfulfilled desire, Whose voiceless protest shall not have an end, Though the remotest and last star expire; Else what grave folly of the gods portend, Beyond the stars, those flaming walls of fire? 23 PRELUDE They weave against the stars their silent ways Through leafage looped athwart the azure night, Passing translucent globes of vaulted light From tender hand to hand — their wisdom stays The envious touch of fate through halcyon days, Gives them to visions that seduce their sight With shapes whose passing is a radiant flight, Whose beauty is their own unstudied praise. Lifting their full-lipped faces to the skies, They fix the moon, shake their disheveled hair Back from the gaze of fascinated eyes; Falter a trice, as if their dreams would share, All pain of all delight passions devise, Turn from no heart if love but tarry there. [24] CONFESSIONAL M. S. M. Your love is my sole comrade : all my ways Flower into song beneath the thought of you, I know your touch in all that I would do, Even as your image stands before my praise; Yet oftentimes a dumb foreboding lays Its chill hand on my heart, as if I knew, Scorning the very prophecy, how few Remain to us of glad and glorious days. Though love perpetual as the sunlight seem, Let us beware of love; all we adore Lies in the shadow of that self-esteem Grown desperate of all it suffered for; One day you will not clasp me in your dream, Neither shall I remember any more. [25] HELEN For G. H. T. Again the voices of the hunting horns, Blown from the new moon, low upon the hills, And the cold splendour of the evening star. Beauty, I have been thy votary, hung The temple of my life with offerings — Ever a vagrant after thy vanishing feet, In those fair days and far when youth was mine. Even now, left lonely at the end of life, 1 seem to hear your voice upon the winds, Behold you rising from the sunlit sea Once more, to make all men your worshippers; Yet, goddess, spare them love like mine, lest love Fall ever on such sullen days as these! To-morrow is as yesterday; to-day No nearer than the morning when there stood In Leda's palace, asking for this hand, Tall Menelaus with his yellow hair; [26] HELEN No nearer, now, than the first time these hands Dared linger in caress upon the curls Of him whose dark eyes laughed their love to mine. 'Tis only as if one short, restless sleep Lay over the wide chasm of the years Beyond which are lost faith and ruined Troy. The night wind brings, as twenty summers since, The silver-breasted swallows from the Nile, To quiet Sparta, nestled in her hills, Locked inland from the voices of the sea; And far across the porticoes I hear The ivory shuttle singing in the loom Midst maidens* chatter, as in olden days; And still men murmur as they pass me by: "Lo, look on her, the wonder of the world, Helen, that would have been the Trojan queen!" I watch them fix their eyes upon my face As they would keep it in their memory For ever, and the very while they gaze, I see the flames of Troy gleam in their eyes. I think sometimes I have already passed Into the kingdom of untroubled death, Where wandering lonely amongst them I knew In Hellas, or where Troy looked on the sea, [27] HELEN Behold each shadow, as it passes by, Shrink, half involuntarily, and turn, To veil its face and vanish in the gloom. Whilst out of that dim distance whence my steps Are moving and to which they shall return After an interval of endless years, There comes a voice that hails me from afar: "Art thou not Helen, dowered of the gods With all that men can covet? Wert thou not Created the most beautiful of earth And is not beauty wisdom, wisdom power? What hast thou done with their almighty gift?" And then, ere I would answer, silence falls Around me, and the dark divides, and I See the blue twilight on the Spartan hills. 28 MOUNTAIN LAUREL Why should I suddenly remember you, Here, whilst I gather laurel in these mountains? Were you not lying dead — Far-off in that forgotten land — I, of all men, would scarce occur to you, Whose passing cost me Rather a dread of fate, than sense of pain. The thought is folly: dead men would remember Only with laughter. Only with laughter, light as ever the winds. II Insistently memory returns: Starlight, grey plains, brown cities of tents, And our chatter of life. How I mocked the stern vision of duty Spreading its giant wings [29[ MOUNTAIN LAUREL To shadow our souls: I told you the feet of men, Following after fate, are the sport of the gods- Now you are dead, And I live, and I gather me laurel! Ill Of old this was given to beauty, To heroes, to dreamers of dreams — Now it is nothing but laurel, I crowd it into my arms, I, who loved life, and still love; Forgive me: Only short of desire is it bitter to die. IV Look with me westward ; over this highway came Saints, warriors, fathers of nations, Straining credulous eyes Into their promised land. Look with me westward; laugh with me at the Babel, [30] MOUNTAIN LAUREL Those witless hands have created; Not thus shall ye ever attain, O dust of the dust, Ye who scourge gods, Who take counsel with wandering stars. Thus have I suddenly remembered you, Knee-deep in laurel fields amid these mountains, Where winds blow westward from the lips of dawn- Fearful, to feel your eyelids open on me. 31 FROM A GARDEN Now even is the drowsy time of cities: Smoke drifting out under the stars; Streets restless, but silent. Here, from the cloister of this garden, Deep in the purple well of night Walled with the elms like shadows of vast fountains Bursting against the sky, I listen down the wind For the faint voice of summer. With silence comes the memory of fate, And dread, with solitude, Ever to men who dwell In cities of men. This night, I know, the moon is on those mountains Where I stood, long ago, With nothing but the waking song of wind — 32] FROM A GARDEN With cities strewn Like spider-webs of stars along the plain. Here, in the dusk, A shadow more than night is on my heart ! 33 3 LIBATION I Unto the gods I have poured out the lees: Drunk to myself the draughts of living wine; Thirsting as one that comes from desolate seas Restless and scarred with foam, Tasting in stinging winds, bitter with brine, Hunger for home. II Light have I seen — and light has left me blind; Angels of sudden strength have vanquished me; Hope was my altar until laughter twined Slowly around my heart, Fingers I strangely knew would never be Twisted apart. [34] LIBATION III Over the waters of their deep embrace, Mountains have cast blue shafts of shadow, now Twilight and summer falter face to face; Knowing what dreams would dare, Scornful of undiscovered days, I vow Wine to despair. 35 INVOCATION I Swift, beautiful god of all beauty that gave Love unto life, for a fire, Lithe-limbed leader of them that are brave In desire, With eyes of the lightning, with jubilant, thunderous lyre; II Dread, merciless god to whom pity were fear, Lover of laughter and light, Giant-winged deity, soaring up sheer Out of night, From tumult of chaos that swells with the surge of your flight; 3 6 1 INVOCATION III Proud, fatal-eyed foeman whose arrows disdain All but the serpents that keep Strong-walled guard at the altars of pain, In the deep Impassable forests of twilight, and ruin, and sleep. IV Warm blood of our sacrifice smokes at your knees, Chaliced in foam at your choice; Calm-browed god, from all lands, from all seas, At your voice, We tremble to wait you, till touched of your wings, we rejoice. [37] STARLIGHT I Strange that the eager heart should burn So brief a space with doubtful fire, Till, flaring suddenly, it turn To dust, devoid of all desire; Out of a world conceived of flame, Drift back toward darkness whence it came, II Roaming as men will, to and fro Over the earth, our spirits seek The very fruits and flowers that blow With beauty of the dust, and speak Veiled words of warning that impart Their hint of penance for the heart. [38] STARLIGHT III Ever to some our faces seem Fleeter than shapes of shadows are: Lost in the subtleties of dream, Wanderers on a dying star, Threading its labyrinths, to find Escape for the despairing mind. IV Voiceless, aloof they dwell alone, Brooding upon their vision, stand Like proud, impassive gods of stone Careless which stars may fade, which fanned To splendour in the trackless skies, Gleam on the granite of their eyes. [39 STARLIGHT Jubilant, though all thought in vain Sound in the void of echoing deeps, Some walk with passions that disdain Whatever fate the future keeps Hidden beyond to lure them far, Like homeless winds, from star to star. VI Their feet are swift and shod with light; Of vagrant flowers each twists his crown; Their eyes are song — before their sight The mountains tremble and bow down; Till death abandon his abyss And seal their triumph with a kiss. 40] A GREEK Cunningly chiseled Into the intricate beauty of exquisite thought; Skin polished smooth as if to tempt the touch, Sinews suspended — Caught in the careless grace of the pride of a god; Lithe neck and sentient lips, and close-cropped curls. Huge, smoky windows, Shafts of hesitant sunlight, Cautious footsteps. Blank marble eyes Wide with wonder, Seeing these sons of God. [41] NEITH Somehow the spirit of that day — Rain-clouded streets and brooding air — Determined me to live and dare, Living, to laugh the world away. As in a crystal dreamers see, Out of unwinding mists, arise The splendours of some paradise Woven of gold and ivory; Deep in the globe of thought I saw Dawn from the tempestuous dust, that form Toward which the endless ages storm Uproarious — to break with awe. Of all things ignorant, yet wise, Sitting enthroned at life's last goal, Dividing body from the soul, Looking at each with flameless eyes. [42] NEITH Immutable, unknown, unsung, Through triumph and delight unearned, Through sorrow undeserved, I learned Salvation from thy wordless tongue. Then, flying the embracing gloom Of burnt-out days and parched desire I built my soul an altar fire Of laughter in the face of doom. 43 AUTUMN Hoarse, cynic voices through the woods, A glitter of black wings, Webs of grey mist winding about the hills, And all the world aflame. Wild as this redolent splendour Grows my desire; Famished and faint at the feast of life, I yet would have all in my dreams, Power, and wisdom, and beauty Gathered into these arms — And now another autumn is upon me. Unto the last shall endure Pride to break free, To be strong; Unto the last of ail light, These sallow skies are ablaze — Life, too, is encircled with fire. 44 THALASSA I They have turned to the lure of the sea again With the salt wind each in his face; They have come from the way of the mountains, like men Whose power would go Unto waters to know Of the touch of the sea that is grace. II They have come to the sea from the strength of the hills From the lair of the winds, where the strong Unchangeable silence of starlight instils Desire in the heart For the uttermost part Of the sea, that is ancient of song. [4Sl THALASSA III Their dreams are of visions where mountains are one With the way of the sea they shall keep; Their thoughts, like the waters, would follow the sun To the arms of the sea, And yet ever would be In the arms of the hills, in their sleep. IV Of those who go down from the hills to the sea With the path of the winds for their feet, The last long home of the heart of me, Were a land that lies In the lap of the skies, Where the sea and the mountains meet. us A PHILOSOPHER Twilight, his hunting ground of thought, Found him with candles lighted, Drawn blinds, and blazing fire. Only in the grey tumult of cities He doubted the purpose of man: Covetous lips and lewd eyes, Were these the hunger of God ? With nightfall he laughed at his fear And walked with the saints — Once he was tucked in bed; Yet wakened, sometimes, To the noise of winds. [47] APRIL NIGHT Because my face has been a mask — My tongue a laggard where alarms Of life are loudest, would I ask Deep sanctuary of your arms. Because of them who scorn to hear Because of eyes that could not see, I turn to you who are most dear Unto the hidden heart of me. This trinket cross that cools my throat, I kiss, lest futile things of speech, Unwary deed, song out of note, Mock at the stars I would not reach. I trust your quiet love shall send To gaudy life and death such peace As waits for worlds to make an end, As tells the upstart suns to cease. 48 ELEGY How else than thus with song Should men take leave of you — How else than to be glad that you are dead — No longer shall pursue Their panic-stricken throng With locks of lightning round your gorgon head ? Tempest grey clouds would know your dauntless tread Down any fearful sky. Pressing my heart to the marble of your own, I feel it turn to stone With dread lest we should meet when I shall die. [49 EXPECTATION Half-opened eyelids, Patches of blue sunlight in the hills, Big, lazy, braggart clouds, Portentous asters, Crackle of the darting wings, Of glittering dragon flies. The drone of summer — Windless, naked seas. Life cast into the scales against your smile. [SO] A TOWER I I heard her sing at eventide Sing when the stormy evening shed An amber twilight far and wide, Sing though her lover late had died, Sing, in the castle with the dead. II Hers was a purple mist of walls And towers that loomed above the plain; Nor torchlit mirth of banquet halls, Nor woodlands loud with hunting calls, Tempted this lady of disdain. 5i A TOWER III Ever with nightfall would she wait, Watching the winding royal road, Till some fair warrior, riding late, Sounded his horn beneath her gate, Praying the boon of night's abode. IV Wonderful was her way with sleep; They who have sought her castled crest, Lie in a slumber even as deep As theirs who never stir, but keep, Mindless of men, their peace with rest. Rumour had given her eyes a name, Woven of the wonder of their guile; Her lips were ribbons of red flame; Out of her voiceless laughter came Death to the living in a smile. S^ A TOWER VI How should a lady wed with song, Twisting pale roses in her hair? Deep though her dungeon be, and strong, Light though her footstep, life is long Even to beauty, everywhere. VII Slowly the story of her face, Living on lips that never met Hers in their life and death embrace, Made of her lair a pilgrim place, Closed to the world men would forget. VIII Twain are the gods whose love is greed To gather life with ruthless hands : Christ, with the cross where each shall bleed, Lust, with her flaming eyes, to lead All who but look, through doubtful lands. (S3 J A TOWER IX Singing she sits till eventide Swallow the road where knights go by, Waving a crimson scarf, the pride Of him who late lay at her side — Waving it wide against the sky. [54] A FIG TREE I Murmurous, at evening, over the yellow-hilled Lone land they came, Crowding about his heels like timid sheep, Whispering his name, Peering at one another, pondering what they heard Resolute, each, to keep His every utterance as the chosen word. Till, like a group of vagrant ghosts, they filled The broad slope where he paused, full in the flame Of the scarlet sunset, stood and never stirred, Brooding — with feverish eyes. II Then suddenly, from somewhere in the crowd, They heard him cry aloud: "Shame to thy faith, fruitless, unworthy tree, That canst not, even for me, The Son of God, hungry, with weary feet, Give anything to eat. [S5l A FIG TREE For that I came and that thou didst not see, Henceforth for ever fruitless shalt thou be!" They watched him, speaking, point as at a vile Unholy thing — some thought they saw him smile. Ill Light-lipped is laughter: in a far-off age, One turning his dim page, Hungry in body and spirit for a text, Paused, half perplexed; Then rose, and took upon him to confute — For this world, and the next — All them whose faith had yielded God no fruit. [56 EASTER DAWN I Now is your altar desolate : Of the vain feet that throng your shrine Only the echoing footfalls wait To keep companionship with mine. II How should they ever hold you dear Till life shall be as love may please; And part the incense of their fear Clouding the pity of your knees ? Ill Wayward your lips are still, as when You counted them least frugal of The tenderness you taught to men, Ever the eldest in your love. [S7l EASTER DAWN IV Lured of your bleeding hands and feet Out of the dead I would arise; Gird on the flesh again, to greet The mist of acquiescent eyes. Sound on the trumpets : the full moon Of ancient festival is come; The son of God is dead, and soon Shall sanctify his martyrdom. 58] THE PHOENIX They said the Phoenix would arise, Out of the embers of its nest; Under the welcome of their skies, Find solace and abiding rest. Some listened for the sound of wings, But soon as ever pinion stirred, It seemed the most confounding things Had been expected of the bird. Till shrewd opinion wondered whether, Considering the skeptic owls, It were not well to piece together Some gentle paragon of fowls. Despair fell to, and bit by bit, From carcasses that failed to please, Devised a creature that could sit Most steadily in sheltered trees. 59 THE PHOENIX And though it never stirs or sings, Only the owls would wonder why This silent Phoenix bred to wings Should scorn the sunlight and the sky. 60 AN ALTAR The past, the future are as one to you : All we would do With worship, all amend with prayer or praise, Change not your ways;' Smiling on who beseech you, who adore Your name no more, You breathe, with equal breath, On life and death. II They who have known you best have thought your face Light's dwelling place; Have turned aside from hope that they should live For love less fugitive, Till your own dark and unrelenting eyes Count them more wise, Than such as meekly wait The voice of fate. [61] AN ALTAR III Let the feet falter or the lips demand Help of your hand, Life, hesitant between divided ways, Spends sunless days Deliberate of silence, till at last The choice slip past For ever, and there remain, Pleasure nor pain. [62] GOLDENROD I On the crest of this yellow surf, Like blue smoke in the winds, From swift night and the nearness of stars, On wide, scarlet wings, Has summer gone seaward. II Out of deep streets of cool sunlight, From closed doors and glittering windows, Passing with muffled voices and snatches of song, From the langour of cities, Into the arms of the morning, Has summer departed. Ill Through the darkness of sky-lighted stairways, With warm murmurs of hidden laughter, They follow you now, Aphrodite. [6 3 ] EGO Ever with evening gather the dead around me — Quietly, with deep eyes — Watching my mute surprise, Gazing as if their secrets would astound me, Should they but set their grey lips to mine ears — Yet cautious, lest strange fears Follow their feet with noiseless tread, As out of the shadows of forgotten years They come to me — these unreproachful dead — Come, calm with pride, seeing the future flower Where once, in vanished days, They, too, drank deep for joy of love and power, Ere they betook them to these darkened ways. Yet they do never take my hand Speaking to me, or touch my blinded sight — I do but idly stand On this last crag of land, Watching the sea and sky turn gold [6 4 ] EGO When all the east, to-night, Is one wide echo of light, As if new morning rose upon the old. Swift as men pass, their feet are swifter yet: What though we think they sleep, They never rest, but keep The highway of the world, where they are met In crowded ways we think the dead forget ! I looked once, long ago, on light like this, And ever after, turned Unto the East, and yearned To know the mad enchantment of its kiss, To find my home in that abiding bliss. Here ever are we lost, ye pale immortals. With flaming wings, Out of contending light and darkness, springs The tempest on the sea, Whither the clouds fling back their threatening portals, Throw their arms wide, as they would welcome me! Gloucester, 191 7. 65 AT ''MADAM BUTTERFLY" Come, gather me into your arms: Tears strain at my heart As the moon at the tides of the sea; Come, gather me into your arms, And to peace. Look : they who would love should be proud : Should despise, nor remember, remorse or despair; Go out unto sorrow with a song, And follow the winds Into the heart of the sun; Like music their foot-falls, Like laughter the pulse of their hearts. Taking less of such love, men shall die. But we who are fugitive Over the world from all passion but peace, Still hunger for rest in your arms. [66] SEA BURIAL Close over him, faithful of death to keep This last poor vigil where he lies alone; Close over him.' When life is hope, and gods are gone to sleep, Devotion unto worship shall atone; Now that his eyes are cold and dim, Close over him! Who else should ask for him as we rejoice And crowd the decks where the exultant land Smells sweet and near. Lost in our laughter were one feeble voice; For him the deathless sea holds out her hand; For him to whom no thing is dear, Smells sweet and near. 67 POPPIES Footsteps soft as fall the rose's Petals on a dewy lawn, Shaken when the wind uncloses Golden gateways for the dawn. Laughter light as is the swallows' Chatter in the evening sky, Wafted upward from the hollows Where the limpid waters lie. Weeping faint as is the willow's By the margin of the lake, Trembling into tiny billows That the silent teardrops make. Phantoms fitful and uncertain As the pearly autumn rain Sweeping on in cloudy curtain Down the wide way of the plain. [68] POPPIES II Oh, unhappy now to waken When the dream had scarce begun! Out of gentle twilight taken Into realms of burning sun. Oh, unhappy now to find me Lost 'neath heavens hot with noon; All that fairyland behind me : Poppy fields and rising moon! Drawbridge and portcullis screeching Bugles braying soon and late — Who are they that come beseeching, Calling at my castle gate ? Drive them hence, for they encumber Days and nights with waking pain Tell them that I lie in slumber Under poppies wet with rain. [6 9 ] POPPIES Who art thou that kneelest weeping By the border of my bed ? Cease thou, for I was but sleeping — Dreaming, only, and not dead. Ill Phantoms flitting and uncertain Sweeping round the endless plain; Autumn twilight's dusky curtain, Drowsy poppies, drenched with rain, 70] WINE Idly as gleaming bubbles rise Like globes of sunlight in this glass, As idly even do men pass, A light of wonder in their eyes. Though beauty lure them, love be strong, Though from lost lands they turn their feet, They come and go, with hearts that beat Respondent to the surge of song. Never is life or death too soon; Never too late; they ebb and flow As sleepless tides that yearn to know The amorous mastery of the moon. [?i A HERO I had put by Your jewelled memory, Thinking: though he should die, Sorrow would be Like mirth, for me. Now, one by one, I count our days apart, Finger your cold, fine-spun, Intricate art, Here at my heart. Let love lay waste From bitter sky to sky, Else with autumnal haste, Even as I, Wither and die. [72] OASIS Come close his eyes and cross his hands Like to a saint's above his breast. So let him smile: he understands The^itterness of life's last jest; That one a stranger to all lands So quietly should deign to rest. Over the desert shall they go, Over the desert and alight Where golden tents reflect the glow Of evening in the depth of night. If he had smiled as one who said, Farewell for ever unto men, We had not loitered at his bed Avoiding other eyes, as then; We had not hoped that, being dead, His like should never live again. [73 OASIS Over the desert have they gone Over the desert into night; They tarry till the kiss of dawn Shall lure them forward in their flight. [74] A MEMORY Strange that on warp and woof of dreams Fancy should weave the web of truth, And yet this airy figment seems Part of that half-forgotten youth, Stolen from days I thought were sped Out of the world — beyond the dead. Smiled she not so when down the edge Of evening we walked alone, Hunting her flowers from hedge to hedge That she might wear them as her own— Or do I hold a hopeless tryst, Here with a shadow shaped from mist? Even as will crumpled rose leaves pent By fingers we can never know, Rouse with the richness of their scent Thoughts of a summer long ago: All the expanse of land and sea Speaks in a thousand tongues to me. 75 A MEMORY Over this coast of cliffs would form — Sprung from the ocean's frosty breath — The blue-grey ramparts of the storm, Flashing with signal-fires of death; Whilst with a murmur, far and wide Swept in the low wind with the tide. Often, at last, when hearts were dumb With fear of parting, would we wend Our way through meadow lanes that come From nowhere and in nothing end, Kissing until our hearts could please To flout the rumour-haunted trees. Till innocent as any day, One casual to other men, Marked for her feet a separate way, Whither love turns not back again: Lured of oblivious twilight, spun Of meshes of the wind and sun. [ 7 6 A MEMORY But is there any heart can keep Its vigil with the voiceless dead ? What if the spirit, waked from sleep, Never recall the words it said? Dwell in forgetfulness, or be Lost, in a last eternity? I 77 WARRIORS Here, for the marvel of the crowd, They put you as if death were proud Of honour, and would cry aloud All that the vanished flesh has done. Yet, facing some of us, you seem To look on men as from a dream, Careless of whether they should deem All that you died for, lost or won. Pride such as yours would scorn acclaim Fawning your praise to gaudy fame, Telling the story it were shame To look on you, and not surmise. Would you from death, I wonder, dare Once more to venture — even care ? You look — and fate lets fall her hair Over the answer in your eyes. 78 IPSWICH DUNES I Would I might tell you, "Comrade, fare you well Into the darkness whither you have gone"; Bid you Godspeed, certain such spirits dwell In lands where light were like eternal dawn. Over these dunes with the last breath of day Loiters the twilight as a lingering friend, Lets fall his hand to turn away from me — Touches these twisted strands of green and grey To lonesome splendour, such as seems to lend A glory to this land at summer's end, An anguish to the silence of the sea. II If ever we could love them who are sped, Out of the world with swift and trackless feet, I should have known your England from my bed, In fields of poppies sown through deep, green wheat; [79] IPSWICH DUNES Should scarce have lived those days as one who made, A pilgrimage toward some unwonted shrine, And all unknowing passed it by the way, Forgetful on those hills with swallows strayed, Through evening delicate as amber wine, Where once you walked, or ever breath were mine, Whither I came, and you long lost from day. Ill You who have gone a troubled way with song, Scorn who would honour you and who forget. Their foolish tears spare you no pang of wrong: Their praise has never lightened sorrow yet. Stretched on these dunes — white sand, sweet-smelling bay, I think I taste the draught of your disdain — Only what you have told of Beauty, we, Who love you best remember — turn away From idle fancy and your age-old vain Unprofitable comradeship with pain, On wings of light, wings that desire the sea. [80] ARABIAN NIGHTS As twilight with a whisper touched the sea, Trailing the waters with her veil of grey, Wave-worn and weary of the ocean, we Saw land against the very heart of day; Half-hidden in the afterglow, it lay On the horizon like a lazy cloud Its coasts encompassed with long lines of spray; We spread the sails until the ship had ploughed Unto the purple waters where the surf sang loud. Between the cliffs by the faint stars we found A gate of thunder — boldly sailing in Watched the dark mountains slowly closing round, Hearing hoarse echoes of the ocean's din Melt into spirit voices, fleet and thin; When, even as we cast our anchor nigh Unto the hills where only night had been, A city of gold rose suddenly on high Like to the yellow light of morning in the sky. [81] ARABIAN NIGHTS As if a god should take the skies for loom Weaving with warp and woof of living fire, So dawned our vision on those hills of gloom, Breathing a gale of music like desire: Grave, deep-toned trumpets, a triumphant lyre Surging in answer to the songs of men. We grasped our oars — but as the stars expire To the kiss of day that splendour paled, and when Last we looked back, those mountains slumbered with night again. 82] DEPARTURE Bring me, this evening, crimson wine Such, as in twilight, seems to keep Secrets of death in serpentine Sinuous sleep. Here will I drink my toast to-night, Over this voiceless, storm-swept sea, Bask in my pleasure, ere delight Vanish from me. Till the sea swallow earth, at last, These lips of memory shall make A whispering gallery of the past, Love, for your sake. [83] LORRAINE Westward lies home; my heart goes out to the west, Lured to the memory of other skies, Longs for the haven where its wings shall rest Over against the slumber of the west, Over against the night, with quiet eyes. Eastward and westward through these hills have gone Conquerors proudly since the world was young; Faces that blanched and faltered in the dawn, Only a memory, once they were gone, Only a memory — and songs unsung. They who have known this fatal land, and died: Felt the throat thicken and the tired heart cease, Dreaming that death would leave them thus, wide- eyed, Touched with the vanity of them who died That Christ should find their martyrdom his peace. Ville au Val, France October, 191 8. [84] AUTUMN EVENING Blown like the dust across my way, There came and went as shadows do, A phantom on the dusk of day, A mask with laughter looking through. Vision of memorable eyes, Haunted by your regretful feet, I pass you still, as ever skies Of sundown flood this silent street. Teach me the chaste, unchosen art, Scorning the hope of bended knees, To brush, like midnight, from my heart, The terror of untravelled seas. Then were the breath of God a flame, To light the life his love would give, Not leave the lips that lisp his name, Cold, and forever fugitive. [8S] UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY, BERKELEY THIS BOOK IS DUE~~0~N THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW Books not returned on time «J -^^in-asinl 50c per volume alter the tnira aay t m expiration of loan period. Mm 2© f sag *«* 50»i-7,'27 /" UNIVERSITY QF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY iMHK Wmfamv s wsmffl wXBx SS/ESwH''*%t illflM **- j \,V &* £3»E9i ^ t# H ■W