 | The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere |  |
72
XXIV. MADE SUBJECT TO VANITY.
Poor earthly House of flesh and blood!
Imprisoned Spirit's mortal mould
What rapture-thrills in fount and flood
Are thine, and on the windy wold!
Imprisoned Spirit's mortal mould
What rapture-thrills in fount and flood
Are thine, and on the windy wold!
And yet what art thou? Bond and chain!
To cheat the whole, thou giv'st the part:
The mother clasps her babe—'tis vain;
She cannot hide him in her heart!
To cheat the whole, thou giv'st the part:
The mother clasps her babe—'tis vain;
She cannot hide him in her heart!
The whole great Soul would hear, would see:
The sense is bound to eye, to ear:
Still ‘Touch me not,’ remains for thee:
‘Not yet ascended,’ still we hear!
The sense is bound to eye, to ear:
Still ‘Touch me not,’ remains for thee:
‘Not yet ascended,’ still we hear!
O pure in life, O sweet in death
O sweet and sinless flesh of flowers
I would that life with such light breath
Such sweetness born of death, were ours!
O sweet and sinless flesh of flowers
I would that life with such light breath
Such sweetness born of death, were ours!
| The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere | |