 | New Ballads |  |
55
SUNSET
By down and shore the South-west bore
The scent of hay, an airy load:
As if at fault it seemed to halt,
Then, softly whispering, took the road,
To haunt the evening like a ghost,
Or some belated pilgrim lost.
The scent of hay, an airy load:
As if at fault it seemed to halt,
Then, softly whispering, took the road,
To haunt the evening like a ghost,
Or some belated pilgrim lost.
High overhead the slow clouds sped;
Beside the moon they furled their sails;
Soon in the skies their merchandise
Of vapour, built in toppling bales,
Fulfilled a visionary pier
That spanned the eastern atmosphere.
Beside the moon they furled their sails;
Soon in the skies their merchandise
Of vapour, built in toppling bales,
Fulfilled a visionary pier
That spanned the eastern atmosphere.
56
Low in the west the sun addressed
His courtship to the dark-browed night;
While images of molten seas,
Of snowy slope and crimson height,
Of valleys dim and gulfs profound
Aloft a dazzling pageant wound.
His courtship to the dark-browed night;
While images of molten seas,
Of snowy slope and crimson height,
Of valleys dim and gulfs profound
Aloft a dazzling pageant wound.
Where shadows fell in glade and dell
Uncovered shoulders nestled deep,
And here and there the braided hair
Of rosy goddesses asleep;
For in a moment clouds may be
Dead, and instinct with deity.
Uncovered shoulders nestled deep,
And here and there the braided hair
Of rosy goddesses asleep;
For in a moment clouds may be
Dead, and instinct with deity.
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