 | Nature-notes and impressions in prose and verse |  |
46
1887–1890
[Now that the dawn is up, is up]
Now that the dawn is up, is up,And your vine drips dewy with cup on cup,
Lean out, lean out, rare Marguerite,
Lean out of your window over the street,
Where Love stands waiting, sweet, for you,
Like a rose 'mid roses wet with dew.
47
[Dark woodland ways of drowsy rustlings]
Dark woodland ways of drowsy rustlingsWhere, in the road, the clay-red nodules lie;
And where the wild grape, green with clusters, swings,
Dimmer than rain, the cool noon hours steal by.
[The thunder boomed from cloudy ridge to ridge]
The thunder boomed from cloudy ridge to ridge,Trailing the terror of sonorous arms;
Making the lightning for his wrath a bridge,
Planting his banners on the heights of storms.
48
[Who now hath understood]
Who now hath understood,Whose art may ever reach
The velvet blush of the bud,
The velvet bloom of the peach?
[High up she glides, high up, the quartz-white moon]
High up she glides, high up, the quartz-white moon,Tipping the mountains with exultant fire,
And in her light each pine becomes a lyre,
And every wind an Oread-whispered tune.
[The hope, the hate, the bitterness of love]
The hope, the hate, the bitterness of loveWere in her eyes that levelly looked at me,
While th' rebel blood went storming up her cheek.
Devil and angel was she in a breath,
Cursing and kissing me whom she wished dead.
[Barbaric burgonets, heavy with gems]
Barbaric burgonets, heavy with gems,And armor wrought of wondrous alchemy,
The Spirits of the sunset don, and sweep,
Vast, cloudy-charioted, along the skies.
49
[Thou hast no thought for one who walks 'mid flowers]
Thou hast no thought for one who walks 'mid flowers,
Whiling away the humming-bird-like hours,
Nay, nay, not thou!
Whiling away the humming-bird-like hours,
Nay, nay, not thou!
Nor think I now of thee who sittest where
The vine leaves wreathe thy beautiful brow and hair,
Forgotten now.
The vine leaves wreathe thy beautiful brow and hair,
Forgotten now.
51
[Thou art to me the whole of heaven]
Thou art to me the whole of heaven,Its sun, its stars, its golden moon;
Thou art to me as music given,
As song that holds the world in tune.
52
[Two unshed tears made beautiful her eyes]
Two unshed tears made beautiful her eyesLighting their liquid turquoise sorrowful;
Yet was she false, in spite of all her tears,
And with sin pregnant as the seeds of hell.
54
[Oh, for the gods of the Greeks]
Oh, for the gods of the Greeks,The oaks of Dodona!
For the white-bosomed gods of the Greeks!
The gods whom my fancy seeks
'Mid these woods whence is blown a
Murmur of Naiad creeks;—
Here where this old oak speaks,
To my soul, like a god of the Greeks,
An oak of Dodona!
55
[A languid land of lazy moons and stars]
A languid land of lazy moons and starsI wander in, watching the ripple bars
Rocking the hyacinths and nenuphars.
[The haymakers' sickles]
The haymakers' sicklesFlash wet on the leas;
The wild honey trickles
From tops of the trees,
The noon is a poppy, the winds are its bees.
[She whom I loved too well]
She whom I loved too well,Crowned with the pomegranate bell
Sits empress now in Hell;
And there
My soul sits by her, kissing her eyes and hair.
56
[Tell me, do you love to lie]
Tell me, do you love to lieWith the dipping boughs above you,
Where blue glimpses of the sky
Greet you like the eyes that love you?
[What gladness of the young, young Earth]
What gladness of the young, young EarthConceived the lily and rose?
What sweetness of her soul's deep thought
Into their fragrance flows?
[Maid Marian rose in the morn betime]
Maid Marian rose in the morn betime,Looked in her glass and hummed a rhyme.
I saw her walk by the blossoming bean
Busked in a gown of bombazine.
57
[Look at me over your shoulder, lass]
Look at me over your shoulder, lass,As you often look in your looking-glass,
And trill to me that merry rhyme,
That rhyme of love and the glad spring-time,
With a fol-de-rol-de-rey oh!
[Oh, could I only grieve you]
Oh, could I only grieve you,
And grieve you more and more!
I who no more believe you,
You, falser than before!
Ah, could I but deceive you,
You, whom I still adore!
Oh! would I were a bee, my love,
And you a wild-rose tree, my love,
I'd sip the sweets I see, my love,
And be no longer poor.
And grieve you more and more!
I who no more believe you,
You, falser than before!
Ah, could I but deceive you,
You, whom I still adore!
Oh! would I were a bee, my love,
And you a wild-rose tree, my love,
I'd sip the sweets I see, my love,
And be no longer poor.
When apple buds are breaking,
And winds with musk o'erflow;
When wren and thrush are making
Sweet song where'er we go,
The kiss I'll then be taking
Is the kiss that still you owe.
And winds with musk o'erflow;
When wren and thrush are making
Sweet song where'er we go,
The kiss I'll then be taking
Is the kiss that still you owe.
58
[You who would not have me]
You who would not have meNow may not save me;
Now you pursue me,
I will not woo thee:
Love is grown cold;
Love is grown old.
[Dim gleam and gloom]
Dim gleam and gloomAnd breezy boom
Of wild bees in the mustard bloom
Swoon through the windows of my room,
As if the young Spring trailed her raiment of perfume
Through the old house, rustling from room to room.
[Along the west a cloud-wrought crimson cloth]
Along the west a cloud-wrought crimson cloth
The curtained sunset draws, to which one star
Clings, fluttering silver, like a glimmering moth,
Pale and crepuscular.
The curtained sunset draws, to which one star
Clings, fluttering silver, like a glimmering moth,
Pale and crepuscular.
59
What voice is that which wanders in the wood?
Is it the Twilight murmuring to the hills?
Or, wrapped in mystery of the solitude,
The far-off whippoorwills?
Is it the Twilight murmuring to the hills?
Or, wrapped in mystery of the solitude,
The far-off whippoorwills?
[What of the sea when the storm clouds thicken]
What of the sea when the storm clouds thicken?What of the soul when its loved hopes sicken?
Look in my eyes and tell me this,—
What of our lives when our hearts are stricken,
Given and taken our love's last kiss?
60
[Between the meads of millet]
Between the meads of milletThe soft wind breathes and blows;
Between the meads of millet
I kissed her mouth's warm rose,
And on her hand I placed the band,
Where all my future glows.
63
[Her eyes were dark with the darkness of hell]
Her eyes were dark with the darkness of hellAnd sweet with the sweetness of sin,
And I was a dream of love, they tell,
To her eyes that entered in.
64
[Night came, treading the darkness into burning stars]
Night came, treading the darkness into burning stars,And in my heart waking again old wars.
The shadow of the past lay on my mind's sick gloom
As on a waste the shadow of a tomb.
65
[On the sunset's cloudy tide]
On the sunset's cloudy tideTriremes of the storm did sit,
All their hundred ports flung wide
With wild battle lanterns lit.
70
[Alas! how hearts go groping]
Alas! how hearts go gropingFor that which may not be!
Braving the gates where hoping,
'T is written, none shall see!
In ways of blind endeavor
And darkness of the never
The gates are closed once open;
The end is misery.
[Why is it thus with me as days go by]
Why is it thus with me as days go by?Oh, why, oh, why?
Less frequent is the smile, more often now the sigh.
[Swift as the poplar, with its lordly height]
Swift as the poplar, with its lordly height,To clothe itself in green when Springtime calls,
When forests still are bare, is hope to come
Into our lives when love has said “prepare.”
77
[While lone I stood]
While lone I stoodWithin the wood
I heard the feet of Silence edge
And stumble on a rocky ledge—
A sound of waters foaming down
Between mossed banks of green and brown:
And through the trees, that leaned to listen,
I caught a momentary glisten
Of her white limbs all interwound
With white confusion of her gown,
That made a dim and glimmering sound.
| Nature-notes and impressions in prose and verse | |