 | Songs of Doubt and Dream (Poems) |  |
23
NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S WIFE.
Over Babylon's grandeurs one grayness of ominous mist had outrolled;
To their altars the priesthood had hurried, with visages white to behold;
Now the mirth of the shawms and the sackbuts by night or by day did not ring,
And the people were huddling in terror, for the curse had come down on the King.
To their altars the priesthood had hurried, with visages white to behold;
Now the mirth of the shawms and the sackbuts by night or by day did not ring,
And the people were huddling in terror, for the curse had come down on the King.
They were wailing for Nebuchadnezzar, and none who had heard them could tell
If to Asshur in anguish more noisy they prayed than to Nebo or Bel;
For the great sacred river was glooming, as though some fell deed had been done
Between Supulat, god of Euphrates, and Shamas, god of the sun.
If to Asshur in anguish more noisy they prayed than to Nebo or Bel;
For the great sacred river was glooming, as though some fell deed had been done
Between Supulat, god of Euphrates, and Shamas, god of the sun.
And in street, garden, square, or in temples, with their ziggurats' towering pride,
There was lamentation more dreary than if Ishtar the deathless had died.
They had heard how the Jewish Jehovah his burden of penance could bring,
But they sought the old gods of their people, for the curse had come down on their King.
There was lamentation more dreary than if Ishtar the deathless had died.
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But they sought the old gods of their people, for the curse had come down on their King.
Through the city one deep desolation had banished by spells of affright
The turmoil of traffic at noonday or the toss of the torches at night.
Over Nebuchadnezzar's vast army one sorrowing stupor would drowse,
Alike on the helmeted spearmen and the archers with filleted brows.
The turmoil of traffic at noonday or the toss of the torches at night.
Over Nebuchadnezzar's vast army one sorrowing stupor would drowse,
Alike on the helmeted spearmen and the archers with filleted brows.
In the market-place gathered no buyers where the fruit-sellers' booths overran
With grapes from Kasvin and with quinces from the orchards of Ispahan.
All day on their slabs in the sunshine the eels from Aleppo would bake
Unbought near the barbel from Tigris and the blackfish from Antioch Lake.
With grapes from Kasvin and with quinces from the orchards of Ispahan.
All day on their slabs in the sunshine the eels from Aleppo would bake
Unbought near the barbel from Tigris and the blackfish from Antioch Lake.
No Assyrian maiden looked longing at the riches that merchants unfold;
At the agates and sards from Choaspes in their fili-greed Indian gold;
At the onyxes from Susiana, at the Bactrian jewel or jar;
At the pearl-crusted broideries from Persia, or the muslins from Malabar.
At the agates and sards from Choaspes in their fili-greed Indian gold;
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At the pearl-crusted broideries from Persia, or the muslins from Malabar.
With safety the ibex would wander on slopes where the tamarisk dwells;
With safety at pools in the meadows would pause the pale-spotted gazelles.
Where the eyes of the lions flamed yellow, their sleek bodies trembling to spring,
No more betwixt reeds of the rivers the arrows from chariots would sing.
With safety at pools in the meadows would pause the pale-spotted gazelles.
Where the eyes of the lions flamed yellow, their sleek bodies trembling to spring,
No more betwixt reeds of the rivers the arrows from chariots would sing.
No more to far countries Caucasian the venturing huntsmen would ride
Where the aurochs in aisles of the forest black-maned and majestic abide;
No more on big beasts lying slaughtered, when dumb was the chase with its din,
Would they pour the red sacred libations in homage to Nergal or Nin.
Where the aurochs in aisles of the forest black-maned and majestic abide;
No more on big beasts lying slaughtered, when dumb was the chase with its din,
Would they pour the red sacred libations in homage to Nergal or Nin.
But I, in my bonds of bereavement, through reveries no cheer could console,
I would pace my long tapestried chambers, on my couches of ivory would loll;
And of throngs that lamented their monarch, unto none came affliction more keen
Than to me, his moon-browed Amyitis, his beloved Babylonian queen.
I would pace my long tapestried chambers, on my couches of ivory would loll;
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Than to me, his moon-browed Amyitis, his beloved Babylonian queen.
He had wooed me with ardors of passion; he had won me to share his great throne;
For I was imperial, a princess, with lineage as proud as his own.
In the halls of my fathers he found me, at the first flush of girlhood's young dream,
Where the mountains of Media are mighty and the domes of Ecbàtana beam.
For I was imperial, a princess, with lineage as proud as his own.
In the halls of my fathers he found me, at the first flush of girlhood's young dream,
Where the mountains of Media are mighty and the domes of Ecbàtana beam.
He had wed me and girt me with worship; he had built me, to ban my least cares,
Hanging gardens where fountains of porphyry played splendid from flowery parterres;
He had clad me in tissues like cobwebs, where diamonds like dew shed their sheens,
And the robes of the slave-girls that fanned me were fit for the ransoms of queens.
Hanging gardens where fountains of porphyry played splendid from flowery parterres;
He had clad me in tissues like cobwebs, where diamonds like dew shed their sheens,
And the robes of the slave-girls that fanned me were fit for the ransoms of queens.
Ah, many an evening together, when sunset its breezes would waft,
In the dusk of my silken pavilions the wines of Armenia we quaffed.
Flung below me, his dark brawny beauty from the tiger-skins gleamed to my gaze,
And like wrath in the green eyes of dragons his armlets of emerald would blaze.
In the dusk of my silken pavilions the wines of Armenia we quaffed.
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And like wrath in the green eyes of dragons his armlets of emerald would blaze.
But 'twas love, only love, that illumined his looks when they dwelt upon mine,
As I called him my conqueror, my hero, my warrior, my chieftain divine.
And we lifted our rose-wreathen goblets, we fed upon love's richest fruits,
While from clustered acacias came floating the music of Palmyrene lutes.
As I called him my conqueror, my hero, my warrior, my chieftain divine.
And we lifted our rose-wreathen goblets, we fed upon love's richest fruits,
While from clustered acacias came floating the music of Palmyrene lutes.
At a word he would gladly have given me the choicest of war-plunders rare,
Between walls of the seven-colored temples piled gorgeous in layer upon layer;
Yea, his mandate had molten to please me—so dear was my whim's lightest nod—
The two holy serpents of silver that coiled below Beltis, their god!
Between walls of the seven-colored temples piled gorgeous in layer upon layer;
Yea, his mandate had molten to please me—so dear was my whim's lightest nod—
The two holy serpents of silver that coiled below Beltis, their god!
But the crafty Judæans he had vanquished wrought slow on the moods of his mind,
Till I hated the wizardries guileful that round him like skeins they entwined;
For at last he would come to me sombre where jovial erewhile he had come,
And the beam in his dark eye was clouded, the laugh on his bearded lips dumb.
Till I hated the wizardries guileful that round him like skeins they entwined;
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And the beam in his dark eye was clouded, the laugh on his bearded lips dumb.
Then he spoke of a dream that had irked him, filled full of inscrutable threat,
But I bade him disdain and forget it, as kings may disdain and forget;
Yet alike my entreaties or counsels were emptier than air to his ears,
And he passed from my portals desponding, though I strove to detain him with tears.
But I bade him disdain and forget it, as kings may disdain and forget;
Yet alike my entreaties or counsels were emptier than air to his ears,
And he passed from my portals desponding, though I strove to detain him with tears.
Through the morrows that brought him not near me, I languished with longing supreme,
And I learned how an Israelite prophet had risen to interpret his dream;
How monitions that teemed with disaster were spoke, and had stricken him as true,
By the man that was now Belteshazzar, but once had been Daniel, the Jew.
And I learned how an Israelite prophet had risen to interpret his dream;
How monitions that teemed with disaster were spoke, and had stricken him as true,
By the man that was now Belteshazzar, but once had been Daniel, the Jew.
And no more to my bowers would he wander, and ever my torment was worse,
Till at last came the message of misery, the tidings that told of his curse.
And hearkening I trembled for horror when they whispered with gasps of their King
That he prowled the great park of his palace, a prone graminivorous thing!..
Till at last came the message of misery, the tidings that told of his curse.
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That he prowled the great park of his palace, a prone graminivorous thing!..
Then the frenzy of awe seized our city, as through it this grim story shot,
And in tumult, alarm, consternation, Amyitis, the Queen, was forgot.
But I spake to my tiremaids with calmness; I lulled their fierce fears into rest,
Though my pulses like snared birds were fluttering, the heart was on fire in my breast.
And in tumult, alarm, consternation, Amyitis, the Queen, was forgot.
But I spake to my tiremaids with calmness; I lulled their fierce fears into rest,
Though my pulses like snared birds were fluttering, the heart was on fire in my breast.
So erelong to the chief of the eunuchs I bade that a message be sent:
Untarrying he came where I waited, and low in obeisance he bent.
And I said to him, “Aspenaz, hearken, as thou hast been faithful and true,
For strange is the task that in secret thy queen shall command thee to do.”
Untarrying he came where I waited, and low in obeisance he bent.
And I said to him, “Aspenaz, hearken, as thou hast been faithful and true,
For strange is the task that in secret thy queen shall command thee to do.”
Then I told my desire, and he started, and prostrate he fell in dismay,
And “O Queen!” he responded, “thy servant but lives thy behests to obey.
“Still, pause .. for too rashly thou temptest the gods in omnipotence dread—”
But I towered o'er him, quivering with anger, and answered him, “Slave, I have said!”..
And “O Queen!” he responded, “thy servant but lives thy behests to obey.
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But I towered o'er him, quivering with anger, and answered him, “Slave, I have said!”..
How loitered those leaden-shod moments till midnight made good her mute reign—
Till I passed the unchallenging swordsmen that guard my seraglio's domain—
Till I reached the great hall of the palace, with lines of dim lamps by the score
Clinging chained to its big cedarn rafters and starring its long marble floor!
Till I passed the unchallenging swordsmen that guard my seraglio's domain—
Till I reached the great hall of the palace, with lines of dim lamps by the score
Clinging chained to its big cedarn rafters and starring its long marble floor!
And here through the vague light to meet me came Aspenaz, potent with aid;
Though rebellious at first from sheer pity, at last he had humbly obeyed;
And together in silence we glided past walls painted fair, near and far,
With the deeds of divine Hasiadra and of bull-slaying Idzubar.
Though rebellious at first from sheer pity, at last he had humbly obeyed;
And together in silence we glided past walls painted fair, near and far,
With the deeds of divine Hasiadra and of bull-slaying Idzubar.
But by narrower corridors wending, we gained the immense palace-park,
And I felt the fresh breeze on my forehead rush fleet from the distances dark.
Just beyond were the dense trees, and o'er them such night as no meanest cloud mars,
For all of Chaldea to be wise by, spread legions of sibylline stars.
And I felt the fresh breeze on my forehead rush fleet from the distances dark.
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For all of Chaldea to be wise by, spread legions of sibylline stars.
Then, terrace by terrace descending, we stood where the grass dripped with dew...
“Now,” I whispered to Aspenaz, “leave me.” .. He shuddered, and softly withdrew..
Like a vanishing phantom I saw him retire and be lost up the slope..
He had left me alone with my longing, my pain, my despair and my hope!
“Now,” I whispered to Aspenaz, “leave me.” .. He shuddered, and softly withdrew..
Like a vanishing phantom I saw him retire and be lost up the slope..
He had left me alone with my longing, my pain, my despair and my hope!
Then I dropped on my knees in the darkness and stretched forth my arms to its air,
As though I could clasp and possess it because my beloved one was there;
And I cried, “O my King, I await thee, whate'er be thy doom or thy dole!
Let the gods work their worst on thy body; not that do I seek, but thy soul!
As though I could clasp and possess it because my beloved one was there;
And I cried, “O my King, I await thee, whate'er be thy doom or thy dole!
Let the gods work their worst on thy body; not that do I seek, but thy soul!
“Come hating me—fear shall not fright me, nor pride my quick pardon efface!
Come mad—I will soothe thee to mildness; come brute-like—my arms will embrace!
Come deformed—I shall know thee and love thee! Come hideous—thou shalt not repel!
Thou art heaven to me always, though branded with scars from the forges of hell!”
Come mad—I will soothe thee to mildness; come brute-like—my arms will embrace!
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Thou art heaven to me always, though branded with scars from the forges of hell!”
... Was it wind in the trees? Was it movement of deer through the foliage dank?
I knew not, but listening and yearning, low down in the darkness I sank.
Still the sound, stealing nearer and nearer—still the sound, creeping close—but no sight,
Save the lawns that flowed black all about me, and the stars overhead that burned white.
I knew not, but listening and yearning, low down in the darkness I sank.
Still the sound, stealing nearer and nearer—still the sound, creeping close—but no sight,
Save the lawns that flowed black all about me, and the stars overhead that burned white.
Did I dream? Was the darkness dividing? Had he heeded the prayer I had prayed?
Then a voice. .. It was his, yet so mournful! .. “Amyitis, art thou not afraid?”..
“No! no! no!” I flashed forth .. and so speaking, I gazed where he grovelled supine,
One rank detestation and horror, fit consort for earth-searching swine!
Then a voice. .. It was his, yet so mournful! .. “Amyitis, art thou not afraid?”..
“No! no! no!” I flashed forth .. and so speaking, I gazed where he grovelled supine,
One rank detestation and horror, fit consort for earth-searching swine!
But I shrank not an instant before him; unreluctant I leaned and embraced;
Had I clung to him glorious and stately, to spurn him now, spoiled and defaced?
And I cried, “Whatsoe'er thine abasement, low down to it, lord, let me bow!
Though the barrier between us be loathsome, still, love, I am I, thou art thou!”
Had I clung to him glorious and stately, to spurn him now, spoiled and defaced?
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Though the barrier between us be loathsome, still, love, I am I, thou art thou!”
[OMITTED]
Night by night we met thus till the bondage that fettered and foiled him had ceased,
Till he rose once more Nebuchadnezzar, he rose disenthralled and released...
All the people have hailed him with welcomes till their gladness the land hath o'erflowed,
But on me, Amyitis, adored one, his dearest of smiles are bestowed!
Till he rose once more Nebuchadnezzar, he rose disenthralled and released...
All the people have hailed him with welcomes till their gladness the land hath o'erflowed,
But on me, Amyitis, adored one, his dearest of smiles are bestowed!
| Songs of Doubt and Dream (Poems) | |