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THE ORIENT
A FRAGMENT
[OMITTED]
The sleet of battle and the hurricane of drums
Blight for a while the calm chrysanthemums,
To clear the air
For the new April that engenders there.
But though her strenuous to-morrow
Get from the West a heritage of sorrow,
Shall not the spirit of Japan
Transmute the urge, the bitterness, the moan,
To some great bloom of beauty yet unknown
To meet the vision of the coming man?
Blight for a while the calm chrysanthemums,
To clear the air
For the new April that engenders there.
But though her strenuous to-morrow
Get from the West a heritage of sorrow,
Shall not the spirit of Japan
Transmute the urge, the bitterness, the moan,
To some great bloom of beauty yet unknown
To meet the vision of the coming man?
India, a Sabine bride,
About the hearthstone of her ravisher
Sets up her household gods; and at her side
His children learn of her.
And surely in her bosom, too, there lies
A mystery unborn.
Ay, surely, an apocalyptic morn,
In Vishnu-land an avatar shall rise.
And the West is with child of the East and the travail is long,
A travail of song.
And the East is with child of the West and the travail is sore,
A travail of war. [OMITTED]
About the hearthstone of her ravisher
Sets up her household gods; and at her side
His children learn of her.
And surely in her bosom, too, there lies
A mystery unborn.
Ay, surely, an apocalyptic morn,
In Vishnu-land an avatar shall rise.
45
A travail of song.
And the East is with child of the West and the travail is sore,
A travail of war. [OMITTED]
May, 1896.
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