The Downing legends : Stories in Rhyme The witch of Shiloh, the last of the Wampanoags, the gentle earl, the enchanted voyage |
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The Downing legends : Stories in Rhyme | ||
XXXV
She laughed; she kissed his golden head,
The while he trembled like a leaf.
“There's not a sin on earth,” she said,
“Except the dreary sin of grief;
There's not a holier thing than mirth
In all the holy lands of earth.
The while he trembled like a leaf.
“There's not a sin on earth,” she said,
“Except the dreary sin of grief;
There's not a holier thing than mirth
In all the holy lands of earth.
“The laughing gods of olden time,
The deities of gladsome men,
Illume us, beckon us to climb
Afar from dogma's smoky den,
Where bigots pile the cruel fires
With nature's pleasures, hopes, desires.
The deities of gladsome men,
Illume us, beckon us to climb
Afar from dogma's smoky den,
Where bigots pile the cruel fires
With nature's pleasures, hopes, desires.
Look upward! Night is all divine
For those who tremble not to die.
Look upward! Jocund daemons shine;
Olympian revels crowd the sky.
Look up and see what life should be:
A godlike dance for me and thee!
For those who tremble not to die.
Look upward! Jocund daemons shine;
Olympian revels crowd the sky.
Look up and see what life should be:
A godlike dance for me and thee!
And, ah my queen! my queen of fays!
She lifts her shining arms above
The cloudy crests, the flying haze
Of heavenly night, and bids to love,
The old, the sweet, the strong command,
So well obeyed in Elfin land.
She lifts her shining arms above
The cloudy crests, the flying haze
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The old, the sweet, the strong command,
So well obeyed in Elfin land.
Dear goddess queen! beneath thy glance
What gentle pleas and soft replies,
What yearning lyres and tender chants,
What clinging lips and burning eyes,
How many millions have there been
Since thou hast reigned, O goddess-queen!
What gentle pleas and soft replies,
What yearning lyres and tender chants,
What clinging lips and burning eyes,
How many millions have there been
Since thou hast reigned, O goddess-queen!
The Downing legends : Stories in Rhyme | ||