On Viol and Flute By Edmund W. Gosse |
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ELSINORE. |
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 | On Viol and Flute |  |
50
ELSINORE.
I sat on the walls of Kronborg;
And below me, along the beach,
The soldiers were strolling and lounging,
And spreading their linen to bleach.
And below me, along the beach,
The soldiers were strolling and lounging,
And spreading their linen to bleach.
Their pipe-lights streamed in the sea-wind,
And now and again I heard,
Laughed out under yellow moustaches,
The ring of a Danish word.
And now and again I heard,
Laughed out under yellow moustaches,
The ring of a Danish word.
While above them an English poet,
Not half so merry or strong,
Was mingling their mirth with the sunlight,
And weaving them into a song.
Not half so merry or strong,
Was mingling their mirth with the sunlight,
And weaving them into a song.
For the sea was a tremulous opal,
The sky more purple than blue,
And across the Sound to Sweden
The white gulls flashed and flew.
The sky more purple than blue,
And across the Sound to Sweden
The white gulls flashed and flew.
51
My heart was one with the pleasure
That laughed out around me then,—
The joy of the sea sun-smitten,
And the life of the strong brown men.
That laughed out around me then,—
The joy of the sea sun-smitten,
And the life of the strong brown men.
And I rose in a great exultation,
While the citadel gloomed at my feet,
And along the jut of the bastions
The north and the south sea beat.
While the citadel gloomed at my feet,
And along the jut of the bastions
The north and the south sea beat.
The curve of the pearl-white shingle
Ran northward to Marienlyst,
And I thought of the pale Ophelia's
Sad mouth strained to be kissed.
Ran northward to Marienlyst,
And I thought of the pale Ophelia's
Sad mouth strained to be kissed.
And I knew that from where I was standing,
In old days long gone by,
Hamlet had heard at midnight
The ominous spectre cry.
In old days long gone by,
Hamlet had heard at midnight
The ominous spectre cry.
Then all my spirit was shaken,
And the old verse-music rose
To my lips, with its cadenced wisdom,
And full sonorous close.
And the old verse-music rose
To my lips, with its cadenced wisdom,
And full sonorous close.
52
And the art of Shakspere was added
To the great glad splendour there,
Fulfilling the physical beauty
And glory of light and air.
To the great glad splendour there,
Fulfilling the physical beauty
And glory of light and air.
Till my heart was flushed with the passion
Of love like the perfume of wine,
And the mouth of an unseen Nereid
Was pressed in a kiss to mine.
Of love like the perfume of wine,
And the mouth of an unseen Nereid
Was pressed in a kiss to mine.
Blown up by the winds from the waters,
She rose in a delicate mist,
And my lips still burn with the ardour
Of the mystical kiss she kissed.
She rose in a delicate mist,
And my lips still burn with the ardour
Of the mystical kiss she kissed.
| On Viol and Flute | |