 | The Poetical Works of (Richard Monckton Milnes) Lord Houghton |  |
204
VIII. THE MOTH.
Parted from th' eternal presence,
Into life the Soul is born,
In its fragmentary essence
Left unwittingly forlorn.
Into life the Soul is born,
In its fragmentary essence
Left unwittingly forlorn.
In the shrubbery's scented shadows
First the insect tries its wings,
In the evening's misty meadows
It pursues the faëry rings.
First the insect tries its wings,
In the evening's misty meadows
It pursues the faëry rings.
Where the trelliced roses clamber,
And the jasmine peeps between,
Looks the gardener's lowly chamber
On the garden—on the green.
And the jasmine peeps between,
Looks the gardener's lowly chamber
On the garden—on the green.
Through the sultry veil of vapour,
Like a nearer nether star,
Shines the solitary taper,
Seen and known by friend afar.
Like a nearer nether star,
Shines the solitary taper,
Seen and known by friend afar.
Then the Moth, by strange attraction,
Leaves the garden, leaves the field,
Cannot rest in sweet inaction,
Cannot taste what earth can yield.
Leaves the garden, leaves the field,
Cannot rest in sweet inaction,
Cannot taste what earth can yield.
205
As the lov'd one to the lover,
As a treasure, once your own,
That you might some way recover,
Seems to him that fiery cone.
As a treasure, once your own,
That you might some way recover,
Seems to him that fiery cone.
Round he whirls with pleasure tingling—
Shrinks aghast—returns again—
Ever wildly intermingling
Deep delight and burning pain.
Shrinks aghast—returns again—
Ever wildly intermingling
Deep delight and burning pain.
Highest nature wills the capture,
“Light to light” th' instinct cries,
And, in agonising rapture,
Falls the Moth, and bravely dies!
“Light to light” th' instinct cries,
And, in agonising rapture,
Falls the Moth, and bravely dies!
Think not what thou art, Believer;
Think but what thou may'st become;
For the World is thy deceiver,
And the Light thy only home!
Think but what thou may'st become;
For the World is thy deceiver,
And the Light thy only home!
| The Poetical Works of (Richard Monckton Milnes) Lord Houghton | |