Chronicles and Characters By Robert Lytton (Owen Meredith): In Two Volumes |
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A KING AND A QUEEN.
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| IX. |
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 | Chronicles and Characters |  |
47
A KING AND A QUEEN.
WILLIAM OF LORIS TO THE LADY OF THE ROSE.
1
Rise, my Queen, and away with me!From the kingdoms where I am King
Two Spirits to lead me to thee
Have outspeeded the wild bird's wing.
2
For the sake of thy dear dark eyesMy soul have I given this Twain;
Who are pledged to win me the prize
I die if I do not obtain:
3
Yet they are not Spirits accurst,But each is a delicate Sprite:
And Sleep is the name of the first,
The name of the second is Night.
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4
O hearken! O hearken! Our horsesAre waiting for thee and for me.
More fleet than the wind in his courses,
More strong than the hurricanes be,
5
They shall bear us, nor ever tire,Over hollow, and hill, and stream:
The name of the one is Desire,
The name of the other is Dream.
6
Away! I am thine, thou art mine:One body, and spirit, and heart!
Stoop! midsummer leaps in the wine
I pour to thee, ere we depart.
7
List! midsummer melodies strayFrom the strings of my throbbing lute,
With music to lead us away
Thro' the dim world starry and mute!
8
The lute is of fanciful fashion,The wine strong, and tender, and bright:
And the name of the wine is Passion,
The name of the lute is Delight.
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9
On the strand is anchor'd my boat:It is built to live in all seas:
We have but to set it afloat,
It will bear us far as we please:
10
For it is so light that, in sooth,'Twill sink not, tho' loaded with treasures:
The name of the helmsman is Youth,
The crew that he pilots are Pleasures.
11
But linger not now, for 'tis late,And we have the world to go thro'.
Poor world! 'tis in such a sad state,
It surely hath need of us two;
12
So much that needs setting to rights!Hate, massacre, murder, and war ....
But ... how sweet are these midsummer nights!
Shall we let things rest as they are?
13
At least we must travel in state,Since a king and a queen are we:
And scatter our largesse, elate
And lavish as monarchs should be.
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14
Before us our herald shall go:And their gates all cities shall ope,
When his clarion he doth blow,
For our herald his name is Hope:
15
Our almoner cometh behind,And he singeth a saintly hymn:
He is wealthy, and wise, and kind,
Gentle Memory men call him.
16
To the sweet, the afar, the unseen,Fair, joyous, majestic, and free,
Lead by Sleep and by Night, my Queen,
Away, through the world, now, with me!
17
And the world shall do us sweet duty,As royally thro' it we move:
For thou art a queen—thou art Beauty,
And I am a king—I am Love!
| Chronicles and Characters | |