 | The violet crown by Sir Rennell Rodd |  |
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PENTELIKON
TO C. C. M.
I think the memory I love best
Is one of Attic stars
On old Pentele's marble breast
Among her quarried scars;
When fierce day died, a cooler breeze,
Would steal across our poplar trees,
And westward bring the breath of seas.
Is one of Attic stars
On old Pentele's marble breast
Among her quarried scars;
When fierce day died, a cooler breeze,
Would steal across our poplar trees,
And westward bring the breath of seas.
And when the moons grew full and fair
They drew us forth to climb
The path that seemed a marble stair
Between the tufted thyme;
Those stars hung down so large and nigh,
Far closer to the earth than sky,
And we were silent, you and I.
They drew us forth to climb
The path that seemed a marble stair
Between the tufted thyme;
Those stars hung down so large and nigh,
Far closer to the earth than sky,
And we were silent, you and I.
We scaled the rugged crest and lay
On nature's thymy bed,
To watch the meteors at their play
In sapphire deeps o'erhead,
To dream strange forms moved to and fro
The crescent plain that lay below,
The ghosts of battle long ago.
On nature's thymy bed,
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In sapphire deeps o'erhead,
To dream strange forms moved to and fro
The crescent plain that lay below,
The ghosts of battle long ago.
There earth and sea lay side by side
Entranced in summer sleep,
And shadowy islands dim descried
Showed o'er a shadowy deep:
And waves of mountain faintly white
Rose up from mist-worlds out of sight,
Like crowns of crystal in the night.
Entranced in summer sleep,
And shadowy islands dim descried
Showed o'er a shadowy deep:
And waves of mountain faintly white
Rose up from mist-worlds out of sight,
Like crowns of crystal in the night.
Then slowly east to watching eyes
A band of rainbow red
Grew o'er the bound of seas and skies,
And the stars paled and fled,
While through the flush, light aureoled,
Up sailed a sphere of molten gold,
And down the bay the glory rolled.
A band of rainbow red
Grew o'er the bound of seas and skies,
And the stars paled and fled,
While through the flush, light aureoled,
Up sailed a sphere of molten gold,
And down the bay the glory rolled.
Isle after island rose to ken
Beneath that ruby band
The amber waves came racing in
To tell the sleeping land,
The scattered mists wreathed up in smoke,
Through purple gorges morning broke,
And all the rugged mountain woke.
Beneath that ruby band
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To tell the sleeping land,
The scattered mists wreathed up in smoke,
Through purple gorges morning broke,
And all the rugged mountain woke.
The hound that night through vigil kept
Gives one deep warning note,
The shepherd springs from where he slept,
And shakes his white capote;
The goat-bells tinkle, watch-dogs bay,
The herd springs up the trackless way,
And in a moment all is day.
Gives one deep warning note,
The shepherd springs from where he slept,
And shakes his white capote;
The goat-bells tinkle, watch-dogs bay,
The herd springs up the trackless way,
And in a moment all is day.
Ah, those were nights, those Attic nights,
On old Pentele's brow!
Long days to me of keen delights,
Those summer days!—By now,
The myrtle sheds its bloom like snows,
The oleander buds unclose
New clusters of the ruddy rose;
On old Pentele's brow!
Long days to me of keen delights,
Those summer days!—By now,
The myrtle sheds its bloom like snows,
The oleander buds unclose
New clusters of the ruddy rose;
The fountain from the marble's breast
Leaps forth as fresh and fair,
The wind at eve still wanders west,
Though we be no more there.
And where the suns of Hellas set
A trail of glory lingers yet,
I could not if I would forget.
Leaps forth as fresh and fair,
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Though we be no more there.
And where the suns of Hellas set
A trail of glory lingers yet,
I could not if I would forget.
| The violet crown by Sir Rennell Rodd | |