 | Poems: Second Series |  |
144
TO TRUTH.
Come to me garbed in love and light;
Wreath thy tresses in myrtle leaves:
Smile through a veil of bridal white
Fair as any that fancy weaves;
Smile from eyes that are blue and bright.
Wreath thy tresses in myrtle leaves:
Smile through a veil of bridal white
Fair as any that fancy weaves;
Smile from eyes that are blue and bright.
Come if thou wilt with sterner mien,
Calm imperious—none the less
Wear a halo of light serene:
Clothe thy presence in loveliness:
Claim my homage—a stately queen.
Calm imperious—none the less
Wear a halo of light serene:
Clothe thy presence in loveliness:
Claim my homage—a stately queen.
Some there are who, of hope forlorn,
Make a goddess of their despair—
Dream of lips that are wreathed in scorn—
Dream of eyes with a frosty glare,
Cold and wan as the early morn.
Make a goddess of their despair—
Dream of lips that are wreathed in scorn—
Dream of eyes with a frosty glare,
Cold and wan as the early morn.
Her they place in a lonely shrine,
And on the altar of Holy Truth
Offer all that we deem divine—
All the passionate dreams of youth—
Joy and beauty and love in fine.
And on the altar of Holy Truth
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All the passionate dreams of youth—
Joy and beauty and love in fine.
Truth! forgive them if they blaspheme:
Thine was never a face to chill:
Dupes are these of a grisly dream
That they have woven, who give at will
Life to shadows that only seem.
Thine was never a face to chill:
Dupes are these of a grisly dream
That they have woven, who give at will
Life to shadows that only seem.
These they offer in impious haste,
Rashly calling the altar thine,
Are thy sisters—as richly graced—
Stars of light—if they cease to shine,
All the world is an empty waste.
Rashly calling the altar thine,
Are thy sisters—as richly graced—
Stars of light—if they cease to shine,
All the world is an empty waste.
Words that bury the light we see
Deep in a pathless atmosphere—
Words that clothe us in misery—
Words that palsy our hearts with fear
Never fall from the lips of thee.
Deep in a pathless atmosphere—
Words that clothe us in misery—
Words that palsy our hearts with fear
Never fall from the lips of thee.
Then should ever a clouded brow
Darken life in a moment's space—
Send a tempest of driving snow—
While I shudder and hide my face,
I will know that it is not thou.
Darken life in a moment's space—
Send a tempest of driving snow—
While I shudder and hide my face,
I will know that it is not thou.
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Only then, when a face serene
Wakes to rapture and melts to love—
Lifts the veil of the world unseen—
Turns my gaze to the skies above—
I will hail thee, O Truth—my queen.
Wakes to rapture and melts to love—
Lifts the veil of the world unseen—
Turns my gaze to the skies above—
I will hail thee, O Truth—my queen.
| Poems: Second Series | |