The Works of Dante Gabriel Rossetti Edited with Preface and Notes by William M. Rossetti: Revised and Enlarged Edition |
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| III. | VERSICLES AND FRAGMENTS |
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 | The Works of Dante Gabriel Rossetti |  |
VERSICLES AND FRAGMENTS
239
GOD'S GRAAL
The ark of the Lord of Hosts
Whose name is called by the name of Him
Who dwelleth between the Cherubim.
Whose name is called by the name of Him
Who dwelleth between the Cherubim.
O Thou that in no house dost dwell,
But walk'st in tent and tabernacle.
But walk'st in tent and tabernacle.
For God of all strokes will have one
In every battle that is done.
In every battle that is done.
Lancelot lay beside the well:
(God's Graal is good)
Oh my soul is sad to tell
The weary quest and the bitter quell;
For he was the lord of lordlihood,
And sleep on his eyelids fell.
(God's Graal is good)
Oh my soul is sad to tell
The weary quest and the bitter quell;
For he was the lord of lordlihood,
And sleep on his eyelids fell.
Lancelot lay before the shrine;
(The apple tree's in the wood)
There was set Christ's very sign,
The bread unknown and the unknown wine
That the soul's life for a livelihood
Craves from his wheat and vine.
(The apple tree's in the wood)
There was set Christ's very sign,
The bread unknown and the unknown wine
That the soul's life for a livelihood
Craves from his wheat and vine.
[As much as in a hundred years, she's dead]
As much as in a hundred years, she's dead:Yet is to-day the day on which she died.
ON BURNS
In whomsoe'er, since Poesy began,A Poet most of all men we may scan,
Burns of all poets is the most a Man.
THE ORCHARD-PIT
Piled deep below the screening apple-branch
They lie with bitter apples in their hands:
And some are only ancient bones that blanch,
And some had ships that last year's wind did launch,
And some were yesterday the lords of lands.
They lie with bitter apples in their hands:
And some are only ancient bones that blanch,
And some had ships that last year's wind did launch,
And some were yesterday the lords of lands.
240
In the soft dell, among the apple-trees,
High up above the hidden pit she stands,
And there for ever sings, who gave to these,
That lie below, her magic hour of ease,
And those her apples holden in their hands.
High up above the hidden pit she stands,
And there for ever sings, who gave to these,
That lie below, her magic hour of ease,
And those her apples holden in their hands.
This in my dreams is shown me; and her hair
Crosses my lips and draws my burning breath;
Her song spreads golden wings upon the air,
Life's eyes are gleaming from her forehead fair,
And from her breasts the ravishing eyes of Death.
Crosses my lips and draws my burning breath;
Her song spreads golden wings upon the air,
Life's eyes are gleaming from her forehead fair,
And from her breasts the ravishing eyes of Death.
Men say to me that sleep hath many dreams,
Yet I knew never but this dream alone:
There, from a dried-up channel, once the stream's,
The glen slopes up; even such in sleep it seems
As to my waking sight the place well known.
[OMITTED]
Yet I knew never but this dream alone:
There, from a dried-up channel, once the stream's,
The glen slopes up; even such in sleep it seems
As to my waking sight the place well known.
My love I call her, and she loves me well:
But I love her as in the maelstrom's cup
The whirled stone loves the leaf inseparable
That clings to it round all the circling swell,
And that the same last eddy swallows up.
But I love her as in the maelstrom's cup
The whirled stone loves the leaf inseparable
That clings to it round all the circling swell,
And that the same last eddy swallows up.
TO ART
I loved thee ere I loved a woman, Love.FIOR DI MAGGIO
Oh! May sits crowned with hawthorn-flower,And is Love's month, they say;
And Love's the fruit that is ripened best
By ladies' eyes in May.
[“I saw the Sibyl at Cumæ”]
And the Sibyl, you know. I saw her with my own eyes at Cumæ, hanging in a jar; and, when the boys asked her, “What would you, Sibyl?” she answered, “I would die.”
—Petronius.
“I saw the Sibyl at Cumæ”
(One said) “with mine own eye.
She hung in a cage, and read her rune
To all the passers-by.
Said the boys, ‘What wouldst thou, Sibyl?’
She answered, ‘I would die.’”
[As balmy as the breath of her you love]
As balmy as the breath of her you loveWhen deep between her breasts it comes to you.
241
[“Was it a friend or foe that spread these lies?”]
“Was it a friend or foe that spread these lies?”“Nay, who but infants question in such wise?
'Twas one of my most intimate enemies.”
[If I could die like the British Queen]
If I could die like the British QueenWho faced the Roman war,
Or hang in a cage for my country's sake
Like Black Bess of Dunbar!
[She bound her green sleeve on my helm]
She bound her green sleeve on my helm,Sweet pledge of love's sweet meed:
Warm was her bared arm round my neck
As well she bade me speed;
And her kiss clings still between my lips,
Heart's beat and strength at need.
[Where is the man whose soul has never waked]
Where is the man whose soul has never wakedTo sudden pity of the poor torn past?
[At her step the water-hen]
At her step the water-henSprings from her nook, and skimming the clear stream,
Ripples its waters in a sinuous curve,
And dives again in safety.
[Would God I knew there were a God to thank]
Would God I knew there were a God to thankWhen thanks rise in me!
[I shut myself in with my soul]
I shut myself in with my soul,And the shapes come eddying forth.
[“I hate” says over and above]
“I hate” says over and above“This is a soul that I might love.”
None lightly says “My friend”: even so
Be jealous of that name “My foe.”
An enemy for an enemy,
But dogs for what a dog can be.
Hold those at heart, and time shall prove.
[Do still thy best, albeit the clue]
Do still thy best, albeit the clue
Be snapt of that thou strovest to;
Do still thy best, though direful hate
Should toil to leave thee desolate.
Do still thy best whom Fate would damn.
Say—such as I was made I am,
And did even such as I could do.
Be snapt of that thou strovest to;
Do still thy best, though direful hate
Should toil to leave thee desolate.
Do still thy best whom Fate would damn.
Say—such as I was made I am,
And did even such as I could do.
Anomalies against all rules
Acknowledge, though beyond the schools:—
Those passionate states when to know true
Some thing, and to believe, are two;
And that extraordinary sect
Whom no amount of intellect
Can save, alas, from being fools.
Acknowledge, though beyond the schools:—
242
Some thing, and to believe, are two;
And that extraordinary sect
Whom no amount of intellect
Can save, alas, from being fools.
[The bitter stage of life]
The bitter stage of lifeWhere friend and foe are parts alternated.
[The winter garden-beds all bare]
The winter garden-beds all bare,Save only where the redbreast lingering there
Brings back one flower-like gleam 'mid the dark mould.
[Who shall say what is said in me]
Who shall say what is said in me,With all that I might have been dead in me?
[Who knoweth not love's sounds and silences?]
Who knoweth not love's sounds and silences?[Where the poets all—]
Where the poets all—Echoes of singing nature—list her call.
A BAD OMEN
On the first day the priestCould find no heart in the beast,
And two on the second day.
[Even as the dreariest swamps, in sweet Springtide]
Even as the dreariest swamps, in sweet Springtide,Are most with Mary-flowers beatified.
[Or reading in some sunny nook]
Or reading in some sunny nookWhere grass-blade shadows fall across your book.
[Aye, we'll shake hands, though scarce for love, we two]
Aye, we'll shake hands, though scarce for love, we two:But I hate hatred worse than I hate you.
[And heavenly things in your eyes have place]
And heavenly things in your eyes have place,Those breaks of sky in the twilight face.
[Though all the rest go by—]
Though all the rest go by—Ditties and dirges of the unanswering sky.
[What face but thine has taught me all that art]
What face but thine has taught me all that artCan be, and still be Nature's counterpart—
The zodiac of all beauty?
243
[With furnaces]
With furnacesOf instant flame, and petals of pure light.
[And love and faith, the vehement heart of all.]
And love and faith, the vehement heart of all.[For this can love, and does love, and loves me. ]
For this can love, and does love, and loves me.
(or)
For this can love, and does, and loves but me.[The forehead veiled and the veiled throat of Death.]
The forehead veiled and the veiled throat of Death.[Thou that beyond thy real self dost see]
Thou that beyond thy real self dost seeA self ideal, bid thy heart beware.
[And plaintive days that haunt the haggard hills]
And plaintive days that haunt the haggard hillsWith bleak unspoken woe.
[To know for certain that we do not know]
To know for certain that we do not knowIs the first step in knowledge.
[Think through this silence how when we are old]
Think through this silence how when we are oldWe two shall think upon this place and day.
[An ant-sting's prickly at first]
An ant-sting's prickly at first,But the pain soon dies away;
A gnat-sting's worse the next day;
But a wasp 'tis stings the worst.
[And mad revulsion of the tarnished light.]
And mad revulsion of the tarnished light.[His face, in Fortune's favours sunn'd]
His face, in Fortune's favours sunn'd,Was radiantly rubicund.
[The glass stands empty of all things it knew.]
The glass stands empty of all things it knew.[O thou whose name, being alone, aloud]
O thou whose name, being alone, aloudI utter oft, and though thou art not there,
Toward thine imaged presence kiss the air.
[I saw the love which was my life flow past]
I saw the love which was my life flow past'Twixt shadowed reaches, like a murmuring stream:—
I was awake, and lo it was a dream.
244
[Or give ten years of life's most bitter wane]
Or give ten years of life's most bitter waneTo see the loved one as she was again.
[And of the cup of human agony]
And of the cup of human agonyEnough to fill the sea.
[Even as the moon grows clearer on the sky]
Even as the moon grows clearer on the skyWhile the sky darkens, and her Venus-star
Thrills with a keener radiance from afar.
[(The Imperial Cloak—Paludamentum).]
(The Imperial Cloak—Paludamentum).Imperatorial car,
And purple-dyed paludament of war.
MY LADY (Canzone)
I'll tell you of my Lady all I know;And, if my lady knew
That I would tell this, she would etc. etc.
And say, “Why, all is his, so let him tell.”
[_]
She is full of incidents, like all beautiful Nature. Then follow descriptive lines about her different attitudes, expressions, etc. Perhaps to wind up by saying that nothing one can say is so expressive of her as her own name, which means herself only: and that cannot be said for others to hear.
LAST LOVE (Canzone)
Love hath a chamber all of imagery;And there is one dim nook,
A little storied web wherein my heart
From leaf to leaf is read as in a book.
[For the garlands of heaven were all laid by]
For the garlands of heaven were all laid by,And the Daylight sucked at the breasts of a Lie.
[The wounded hart and the dying swan]
The wounded hart and the dying swanWere side by side
Where the rushes coil with the turn of the tide—
The hart and the swan.
245
[Within those eyes the sedulous yearning throe.]
Within those eyes the sedulous yearning throe.And all the evil of my heart
A thousand times forgotten.
[Ah if you had been lost for many years]
Ah if you had been lost for many years,And from the dead to-day were risen again!
ON THE TWO BRIDAL-BIERS
How sweet a solace is the bridal-bed—Dawn as prepared, evening as hallowèd.
[Fashioned with intricate infinity.]
Fashioned with intricate infinity.[Ah dear one, we were young so long]
Ah dear one, we were young so longI thought that youth would never wane—
Ah dear one, I've been old so long,
How long until we meet again?
JOAN OF ARC
This word had Merlin said from of old:—
That out of the Oak Tree Shade
In the day of France's direst dule,
God's hand should send a Maid.
That out of the Oak Tree Shade
In the day of France's direst dule,
God's hand should send a Maid.
And where Domremy, by Burgundy,
Sits crowned with its oakenshaw,
Even there Joan d'Arc, the Maid of God's Ark,
The light of the day first saw.
[OMITTED]
Sits crowned with its oakenshaw,
Even there Joan d'Arc, the Maid of God's Ark,
The light of the day first saw.
Where spirits go, what man may know?
Yet this may of man be said:—
That, when Time is o'er and all hath sufficed,
Shall the world's chief Christ-fire rise to Christ
From the ashes of Joan the Maid.
Yet this may of man be said:—
That, when Time is o'er and all hath sufficed,
Shall the world's chief Christ-fire rise to Christ
From the ashes of Joan the Maid.
[The tombless fossil of deep-buried days.]
The tombless fossil of deep-buried days.[And 'mid the budding branches' sway]
And 'mid the budding branches' swayOur antlers met in battle-play
When our fetlocks felt the Spring.
[In galliard gardens of strange aventine]
In galliard gardens of strange aventine,Or sway of tidal night.
[When we are senseless grown, to make stones speak.]
When we are senseless grown, to make stones speak.[Or, stamped with the snake's coil, it be]
Or, stamped with the snake's coil, it beThe imperial image of Eternity.
246
[Could Keats but have a day or two on earth]
Could Keats but have a day or two on earthOnce every year!
DÎS MANIBUS
Gustave Flaubert, whose honoured rôleWas to be scribe to Nero's soul,
And make French flesh to creep and crow
O'er Carthaginian Salammbô,
Lies here—in body, as in the brain,
Like Morgue-corpse tumid from the Seine.
What shall be writ above his grave?
Vitellius', Nero's dying stave?
“Fui Imperator,” shall it flow,
Or “Qualis artifex pereo”?
[“Ah lads, I knew your father.” What wide world]
“Ah lads, I knew your father.” What wide worldOf meaning in those words! They mean that he,
Being gone before, has known that mystery
From living Plato and Socrates fast-furl'd.
[This little day—a bird that flew to me—]
This little day—a bird that flew to me—Has swiftly flown out of my hand again.
Ah have I listened to its fugitive strain
For what its tidings of the sky may be?
[No ship came near: aloof with heed]
No ship came near: aloof with heedThey tacked, as still as death;
For round our walls the sea was dense
With reefs whose sharp circumference
Was the great stronghold's sure defence.
[And plaintive days that haunt the haggard hills]
And plaintive days that haunt the haggard hillsWith bleak unspoken woe.
[Inexplicable blight]
Inexplicable blightAnd mad revulsion of the tarnished light.
| The Works of Dante Gabriel Rossetti | |