University of Virginia Library

Dyseris—Orestes
DYSERIS
O love, love, love; I am too late, too late.
Here on your corse I wildly fling me down
With all my weight of shames; come treble shame
To me if it would bring you any life.
You are a bitter son to kill my love,
And I will curse you all my days of time:
And mumble still the curse when I grow old;
Silly and old, I'll yet have wit to hate;
And when they lay me in my chamber-tomb
I will have wound about my forehead there,
This curse in blood-red letters next my brain
Till we fall dust together. O love, love,
Move me so little of your lips again,
Save me the smallest corner of a smile;
You were so brave, you could not die so soon,
Beneath the boy's arm you have ruled so long:
Whose life you gave me even now: No, no,
You do but try me, and try him; again
Command us, he is sorry to have lifted
His arm; you are dazed only: lo, I loosen
Back on the chest your royal robe, you'll breathe
When you have room and air about the throat—
O ye great gods curse me this boy, he's dead,
Here went the knife, and water-like it goes
Horribly red and blinds my dim hot eyes.

CHORUS
Roll thou sea on the crags of Pelion,
Blow bitter wave and arise mighty gale.

DYSERIS
Ay me, the god vexes my brain with fire.

CHORUS
Breathe on the leaves all thy death full East wind,
Rock the old desolate branches and sway.

DYSERIS
My love is dead, is dead, mark me, I say
Dead, for behold it is a little word,
A little and a strong small cruel word,
Yet still as it is I'd tear the sun
From heaven to make it false this one small word,
And feel again his warm kiss on my mouth.

CHORUS
There is no singing in thy wake, lord Death,
Nor voice of boys or lisp of singing girls.
Cry, for we stumble in a grievous land.

DYSERIS
Fools, will ye thrust your griefs against mine own?

CHORUS
Shed out our wail like blood beside the queen's.

DYSERIS
Go to, ye vain ones, I am queen in this
Being unqueened in all, that no man may
Surpass my desolation: no man dare
Push up his puny grief against my face
And vaunt and plume himself how big it is;
Since all my nature is one grief, and I
Utterly, wholly, vanquished and absorbed,
Only exist as parcel of my pain,
Only am dull and dim and sick and blind,
Only reach out these cold blind hands upon him.

CHORUS
Die, for the dead scorn pain. Make thine their sleep.
Arise and go and heal thee, fair and great,
Better is death and far less terrible.
Descend, O queen, to silence.

DYSERIS
Listen, I loved this man, and had delight
To hear his voice. No queen in any land
Had fairer joy in loving. Beautiful
Light was upon his brow, and golden fire
Between his lips that kissed me. More and more
The shadow of his spirit made me strong,
And underneath the glory of his eyes,
I moved to music—This was yesterday,
Now—Zeus is dead and heaven rots under him.

CHORUS
Ay, for the earth is over-thrown with fear
And the blind gods sit whispering at the change.
They crowd together, feeling at the dark.
And the white Aphroditè shrieks, and sheds
The glory of her robes; and to the dust
Lays her ambrosial bosom. And the sun
Rolls out a fearful light and the stars crack,
For Zeus is dead and all his new gods quail.

ORESTES
Know, mother, I have been most merciful
Tho' I bear bloody semblance in this act.
The bond thou couldst not break for thy weak self,
Lo, I have broken and thy shame is dead.
O rise and leave this shameful thing to lie;
Thou dost forget thy queendom: O rise now
And leave thy tainted life in this man's grave,
And be hereafter pure and humbler thou.
O, I the son, thou cursed'st, pity thee,
And love thee, more than ever in thy pride
I loved thee, broken now and on the ground
Sobbing I find of mother more in thee.
Weep, cry, weep much: if thou canst weep so soon
After a little thou shalt dry thy tears.
Regret of false love is not long regret.
Let this strange horror make thee pure and clean,
And wean thy memory from this dead false hound
Who shamed thee and who perished.