The Poetical Works of George Barlow In Ten [Eleven] Volumes |
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 | The Poetical Works of George Barlow |  |
172
SONNET XII
VENUS INCARNATE
Upon the old cliff thou stood'st with wondrous eyes
Wherethrough the timeless soul of Venus shone;
And I,—I knew myself thy bard alone
Till very death turns faint of heart and dies.
Thy soul was mingled with the pale-blue skies,
And the far dark-blue waters were thy throne,
And in thy tongue spake Venus' silver tone,—
Robed wast thou, mortal, in immortal wise.
Wherethrough the timeless soul of Venus shone;
And I,—I knew myself thy bard alone
Till very death turns faint of heart and dies.
Thy soul was mingled with the pale-blue skies,
And the far dark-blue waters were thy throne,
And in thy tongue spake Venus' silver tone,—
Robed wast thou, mortal, in immortal wise.
So thou dost hold my soul for evermore,
O Venus-lady, in thy tender hands
Which held innumerable souls of yore
And swayed the unsearchable and ancient lands,—
Now clasping my soul where grey breakers roar
And charge along the vapour-shrouded sands.
O Venus-lady, in thy tender hands
Which held innumerable souls of yore
And swayed the unsearchable and ancient lands,—
Now clasping my soul where grey breakers roar
And charge along the vapour-shrouded sands.
| The Poetical Works of George Barlow | |