 | Carmina crucis |  |
1
THE GARDEN OF PROSERPINE.
Amaranth and asphodel,Methinks I know ye well,
And thou, frail wind-swept flower that in the dim
Green woods, unseen by him
Thou lovest best,
The wood anemone, or wind-flower, a nymph beloved by Zephyr. This aroused the jealousy of Flora, who banished her from her court, and changed her into a flower, which always blooms before the return of Spring She is meanwhile unprotected in her too early bloom, and wooed by the rough north wind; which fails to win her love, but disturbs her peace and causes her to fade quickly.
Here blooms each flower whose leaf
Or petal hints at grief
And bears a mystic sign, a crimson stain;
The golden rod with fire
Stands tipp'd, the tuberose,
In its swift fading glows
And lights within its heart a funeral pyre.
No roses, white nor red,
Glow here, the poppy's head
2
The keys of death and sleep,
Of anguish, ecstasy, and wild desire;
Here ever on the turf green twilight lies;
Here ever warm and fragrant is the air,
And all this place is desolate and fair,
Made by a King and meet for Love's delight;
Yet here joy comes not, but the exquisite
Brief thrill of rapture in a pang that dies.
Here walks a Queen with steadfast eyes unwet,
With white Narcissus garlanded, that still
Dreams of fair Enna's sunlit mead, and yet
Mourns for the fresh, ungather'd daffodil.
| Carmina crucis | |