THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES ^^^. ^•^^^^ -£*- J 0^C3i.^ -^ " 1 rt J //ytf^^ IN A GARDEN AND OTHER TOEMS Of lh!$ Edition 500 eopitt have been printed. CONTENTS. Page TO MT TOTEM ix IN A GARDEN What is the world trying to say? ... 3 You came, the vernal equinox ... 3 Green leaves panting for joy with the great wind rushing through ..... 4 Sick and sullen and sad the slow days go . 5 May-month is dawning. .... 5 O faithless heart, for once, for once believe . 6 Roses white and pink and red ... 6 What sound is that borne on the breeze . . 7 When first I loved, 'twas not your eyes . . 8 In the eaves a swallow cri'th ... 9 In all my borders I my true love seek . . 10 Dearest, these household cares remit . . 10 Thro' the open windows come ... 12 With dreams the sunbeams steep ... 13 'Tis April, but the drought of March . . 13 O happy garden, in May air . . . . 14 Rose and lily, white and red. ... 19 SONGS AND SONNETS Barbara ....... 23 / Song 24 The Night Watches 25 75rfr>?o CONTENTS. SONGS AND soyiiiETS— continued Page Accidia ....... 27 Imprisoned .... » 28 Love Unreturned. . 29 Beauty .... 30 Hope .... . 32 Heart and Wit . 33 Love the Masker . 35 Love and Duty . 39 Polonaise .... 40 Loca Senta Situ . 41 ^ Rose-fruit .... 42 Song ..... 43 ^^ Nature's Caravanserai . 43 Whispers at Court 44 Ave Atque Vale .... 46 First Snow . 48 The Robin in January . 49 To the Nightingale in September 50 Nidderdalc .... 51 ToComatas 52 Going Down Hill on a Bicycle 54 Natural Heraldry 56 Some Flowers 58 Triolet .... 59 RELIGIOUS PIECES The Tree of Life 63 Prayers 72 Lines on a Young Friend who Idied just before taking Orders ....•• 73 A Funeral ..... . . 73 CONTENTS. RELIGIOUS Piii^CES— continued During the Anthem Ambition . The Ploughed Meadow . Kibroth-Hattaavah Caiaphas On a Madonna and Child of Bellini Doubt Under the Canopy Knowledge after Death Creation A Song of the Three Kings ■ From the Italian of Giovanni Dell' Isola Separation ..... Page 74 75 77 79 82 8.3 M 85 86 87 88 89 90 TRANSLATIONS The Swallow Song 93 From Alcman U From Sappho 95 From Callimachue 95 From Menander . 96 From Leonidas . 96 From Theocritus . 97 From Meleager . 98 From Sophocles . 105 From the Iliad . 106 i TO MY TOTEM " Sub tegmine fagi." Thy name of old was great ; What though sour critics teach The beech by the Skaian gate Was not, alas, a beech; That sweet Theocritus The ilex loved, not thee 1 — These are made glorious Through thy name, glorious tree. Our singers love thee too. In Chaucer's liquid verse Are set thy praises due, The ages but rehearse : Though later poets bring Their homage still, and I, The least of those who sing. Thy name would magnify. For long ago my sires. Ere Hengist crossed the sea To map our English shires, Gave up their heart to thee, b DEDICATION And vowed if thou wouldstikeep Their lives from fire and foe. Thou too shouldst never weep The axe's deadly blow. Thou hast my heart to-day : Wliether in June I sit And watch the leaves at play, The flickering shadows flit ; Or whether ivlien leaves fall And red the autumn mould, 1 2yace the woodland hall Thy stately trunks uphold. IN A GARDEN 4 What is the world trying to say 1 Why is the light so tender and grey — Why are the tremulous leaves a-sway On the trees new fledge with the faintest green? Nay, he were wise who could say what these things ^ biean, and tell the secret of May. What is my heart trying to say 1 Why does it tremble and hurry and stay At the sight of a leaf on a sunny day, Of a leaf tho' never so delicate-green 1 Nay, he were wise who could say what these things mean, and tell the secret of May. II. You came, the vernal equinox Brought on the solstice in a day ; Crocuses in their beds of box Straight changed to tulips, striped and gay. IN A GARDEN You went, and summer fled with you ; 'Twas autumn, nay 'twas winter here ; Cold winds drove snow-clouds up the blue And bared the disenchanted year. Idly I mourn, or idly go Thro' all the wan dishevelled place, In hope some one red rose may blow The harbinger of your sweet face. III. Green leaves panting for joy with the great wind rushing through : A burst of the sun from cloud and a sparkle on valley and hill. Gold on the corn, and red on the poppy, and on the rill Silver, and over all white clouds afloat in the blue. Swallows that dart, a lark unseen, innumerous song Chirruped and twittered, a lowing of cows in the meadow grass. Murmuring gnats, and bees that suck their honey and pass : God is aHve, and at work in the world : — we did it wrong. ( IN A GARDEN 1 Human eyes, and human hands, and a human face Darkly beheld before in a vision, not understood : — Do I at last begin to feel as I stand and gaze Why God waited for this, then called the world very good 1 IV. Sick and sullen and sad the slow days go ; Fog creeps over the land, and frost and snow Grip, on the springs of joy and stop their flow. Yet at thy voice, beloved, the ice to-day Felt the ardours of Spring, and fell away, Bubbled again and sang with the joy of May. May-month is dawning, May-month so fair and fleet, The white thorn blossoms Around my lady's bower ; Golden the cowslips Are springing round her feet; But ev'n the violet Is not so sweet a flower. 6 IN A GARDEN VI. O faithless heart, for once, for once believe : Open thine eyes, can seeing then deceive ? O hopeless thirst — for once, for once drink deep ; Look ! joy's full cup is given thee, tho' thou sleep. O loveless life, break forth and bud ; thy rod Shall bear sweet almonds from the graft of God. stammering tongue, for once, for once speak true To-day you plight the troth she giveth you. VII. Roses white and pink and red Who this dewy evening shed Round our path a faint perfume :~ 'Tis my love that thus you greet. Deigning sweets to one as sweet From your close-locked treasure-room. Let not spikenard make pretence. Odorous gums that drug the sense. Balm or musk to vie with this : Not the spices for the Spouse Heaped in her BelovBd's house, Cinnamon and ambergris. IN A GARDEN Roses white and pink and red Whose dim petals thickly spread Carpet o'er the shaven grass ; Could you know — her feet are fair And as soft as rose-leaves are, Kiss them lightly as they pass. VIII. He. What sound is that borne on the breeze, -From what heart-thrilling strain, Out of the glowing depth of emerald trees. Just heard, then lost again % She. It was the nightingale, whose fervent heart Thus meditates his part While his bride tarries ; or to guide er beauty to his side. lie. He is the true interpreter of love. For who that listens to his lay In covert hid from the unaccustomed sun This warm spring day. Knows if that passion be or glad or sad, If pain or joy his numbers move ; 'Tis hope, nay 'tis despair, nay rapture mad, Nay all of these in one. 8 IN A GARDEN Slie. Stretch hither then, dear bird, thy tawny wing ; To our lone garden come and sing- In thy deep-throated way The love we cannot say. He. Yet come not at high noon, Come when the silver moon Lights up the chestnut tapers, and broad lamps Of the white, spreaded rose ; And makes the luminous pinks and lustrous may Fairer than ere by day ; And the deep stillness grows Deeper, the speU more deep ; No sound save in the stall an ox that champs, Or disturbed, scampering sheep. IX. " Dixit et avertens." When first I loved, 'twas not your eyes That quenched ambition in despair : Or eyelids folding petal-wise : Or golden burnish in brown hair : Or ebb and flow of red and white : Tho' now I taste their full delight. IN A GARDEN 'Twas in this lovely garden first I saw your loveliness displayed ; You sat ; my heart was high, and durst Sit by you wondering, undismay'd ; You rose : my heart fell on its face And knew the Genius of the place. So not by any common sign. Ambrosial hair, or roseate hue, That witnesses to race divine, Troy's prince his goddess mother knew ; But when she turned her steps, " 'Tis thou, Venus, I knew thee not till now." X. In the eaves a swallow cri'th, And hark, the sound of whetting, Whetting and whetting the scythe On the dewy lawn : blithe, Blithe sound, there's no forgetting. For -the grass is mown to-day ; O delicate scent and sweet ! Sweeter than seeded hay, More sweet, and ah, more fleet ! It is blown, it is flown away. \ 10 IN A GARDEN XL In all my borders I my true love seek By flowery signs to set : Praising the rose-carnation for her cheek, Her hair the violet ; Flowers that with sweet returns each season bloom, As each its impulse wakes. Making air fragrant with a purple gloom, Or whorl of crimson flakes. And ye, who blanch your glow, violets more rare. Carnations, foam of light ; Be pledges of a beauty still more fair When hair and cheek are white. XII. Dearest, these household cares remit , And while the sky is blue to-day, Here in this sunny shelter sit. To list the blackbird's lay. Is all so rare, romantic boy '? Is love so new and strange, that thou Must with that wild and shrilling joy Thrill the yet v/intry bough ? IN A GARDEN 11 Ah, now 'tis softer grown, more sweet, — " I come, I come, O love, O my love," — And he is fluttering to her feet In yonder purple grove. Now hark ! all summer swells the note And dreams of mellow ripeness make So ripe, so rich his warbling throat For spouse and children's sake. Lover and prophet, see ! the flower Of cherry is hardly white, and figs Are leafless, and thy nuptial bower A cage of rattling twigs. Yet faith is evidence, and hope Substance, and love sufficient fire ; And Art in these finds ampler scope Than in fulfilled desire. So play thy Pan's pipe, happy Faun, Till some May night with moonshine pale, Thou pin'st, to hear by wood or lawn Apollo's nightingale. 12 IN A GARDEN XIII. Thro' the open windows come, Thro' the heated summer air Where the notes of birds are dumb, Moanings of a deep despair. And the listener, on the lawzi Digging plantains, holds his breath : For he knows the lists are drawn In a strife 'twixt life and death. Half his song the blackbird tries, Stops again for utter drouth ; So the sun thro' shadeless skies Shoots his arrows from the south : But that quiet moan comes yet, Chokes the lieart of one who hears With vain longing, vain regret. Till his soul throbs in his ears. Slow the hours go creeping by. Yet the weary moan is sore ; Sudden then the wailing cry Of a voice unknown before Pierces thro' it. Oh delight ! Heart rejoice, tears ^ave your way, Praised be God in depth and height For the child that's born to-day ! IN A GARDEN 13 XIV. With dreams the sunbeams steejD My bower that a bower will be In a month, for March this year Is kind as the month of maying : And a sound of the sea brings sleep ; Nay, sleep brings a sound of the sea, For it is but the wind that I hear In the heavy fir-tree swaying. What hear you as you stand, love, by the shore of the sea 1 The surf, or the gull's sad cry, Or the shouts of children playing 1 Nay, shouts from a far-off land, And a plover's cry on the lea, And the sough of the winds that sigh In the heavy fir-tree swaying. XV. 'Tis April, but the drought of March Is not yet pierced by sweet showers ; The unsheathed sunbeams smite and parch The springing grass, the o'erhasting flowers. 14 IN A GARDEN Our lily of the valley, see, That hardly ripens for Mid-May, My love's first pledge and annual fee, Is blown a month before the day. The lawn grows rusty, dusty red. For tho' all night thfe gracious dew Bathes each wan blade, that else were dead. It cannot their dried sap renew. But in the orchard is a place Where we may lie, and feel the fall Of apple-petals on our face, And drowsing hear the cuckoo's call, || The ring-dove's melancholy note, j| The blackbird s fluting, and the hum Of bees above us, more remote. As slumber steals our senses. Come. XVI. O happy garden, in May air With lawns and wilding arbours fair And alleys pleached of quick and yew To cloister those from curious view Who tread their paths of springing green ; And, save of nesting birds unseen, IN A GARDEN 15 Listen and tell of love as they, While youth is youth and May is May. Take hands and walk, as we walk'd then Through the long shade to sun again, And watch'd the dial silently Brood o'er his lighten'd hours (as we , After our many days of cloud ;) And heard the blackbird fluting loud Fantastic descant from the beech, Then speed him home with chattering screech. We lavighed, " Shy artist, who's thy foe 1 " Nor knew the dread that parents know. From the nigh copse a turtle-dove Pour'd forth his passionate tale of love In smothered sobs from too full heart ; We heard in trance our own love's smart. Then all the breadth of heaven's high hall Shook with the plaintive cuckoo's call, Now faint, now resonantly clear, Then faint again, as far or near His homeless home he wander'd free, A " Pilgrim of Eternity." The spell broke with the smile, and so We turn'd our steps and loiter'd slow 16 IN A GARDEN 'T^vixt borders pale with later spring ; — Polyanthus crowding ring on ring, Love's banner, Jieartsease, balm for thought, White tulips, blue forget-me-not. One slim narcissus drooped his head, And from her closely curtain'd bed One lily shook out half her bells ; Each pluck'd ; which kept 1 the rhyme not tells. As yet the wise respective world Had not her pomp of plumes unfurl'd Or tassell'd gold on tree and tree, T' enhance their fresh embroidery. For Boreas bluster'd still, and th' East Palsied the sap in plant and beast. Only Pomona knew no fear For her white breast had brush'd the pear, And now her fingers 'gan to fling On th' apples pink enamelling. (0 frosts, join not with rain to mar More cunning workmanship than far Ind fashions by her delicate waves To deck the Nereids in dim caves !) * The season strain'd forward, and we Strain'd forward ampler bliss to see — IN A GARDEN 17 Summer for spring, for blossom fruit ; And we have tasted, — and shall do't, If God allow, not once again — Autumn's joy wrought from smiles and pain. And now once more 'tis May — once more June's breath stirs rapture, blown before Her footsteps, and the rose's blood Tingles, the ruby gems i' th' wood Leap into twisted leaves, unfold To spray, as one but cries " Behold ! " And in the spray's heart lurks — June, O heart of the year, thy heart makes swoon Th' o'erquicken'd sense, but ev'n thy name Wakes on man's heart new wings of flame ! O happy garden, two long years Have all thy voices charm'd our ears From discord, din, and rough unrest That drive off peace, too timorous guest. The ever-circling years shall bring Thee but more beautiful a spring ; (More beauteous spring, O love, to thee) In spite of winter's jealousy ! Which of us twain shall sooner go The separate path ; ah, who can know ! One May perhaps while thrushes call On Love in sweet antiphonal, B 18 IN A GARDEN An air shall blow, a whisper'd sigh ; And one the other sitting by- Shall rise and quit this leafy place With backward hands, and what still face ! Nay, tears avail not, but our love Avails death's terror to remove. Love dies not nor can lovers die ; And though vast worlds between them lie, Th' intelligencing current thrills From each to each the thought love wills. Remember'st not the dreary day When I must journey, how (you say) A nightingale, ev'n love's own bird. In our fair garden else unheard, Pour'd from the lilac, melting-sweet, His throated jewels at your feet, Till blissful night return'd me home ; And is death more than absence 1 Come Leave care, 'tis May, and still we are here. And shall be, shall be, many a year. Hearkening these swallows, and without The struck ball, and the echoing shout Of village children at their play. In the quiet air at end of day. IN A GARDEN 19 XVII. "■Here's, afewflowres, hut 'bout midnight more, The kerbs that have on them cold dew o' the night." Rose and lily, white and red, From my garden garlanded, These I brought and thought to grace The perfection of thy face. Other roses, pink and pale, Lilies of another vale. Thou hast bound around thy head In the garden of the dead. SONGS AND SONNETS I BARBARA The breeze of Spring is not so blithe, The sea-gull not so free, No silver fish so light and lithe To wind in the green sea. Nor e'er did subtle alchemist Compound such wondrous dyes Of sapphire sky and emerald mist As the hue of Barbara's eyes. The wind goes wavering thro' the grass. The sea-gull circles high, The golden sunbeams in a mass Break from a rift of sky. But I may bind the wind as well, Or scale the gull's high nest, As ever hope the gold to tell That flows round Barbara's breast. 24 SONGS AND SONNETS SONG Love walked upon the sea this tranced night,I know, For the waves beneath his feet ran pale with silver light, But he brought me no message as on a summer night, A golden summer night, long ago. Love walked among the fields of yellow waving corn, For the poppy blossomed red where his weary feet had pressed ; And my door stood ready open for a long-expected guest, But he never, never came, night or morn. Perhaps if I wait till the summer swallows flee, He will wander down the valley and meet me as before. Or perhaps he will find me alone upon the shore AVhen he comes with the swallows over sea. ^ SONGS AND SONNETS 25 THE NIGHT WATCHES Come, O come to me, voice or look, or spirit oi- dream, but come now ; All these faces that crowd so thick ai^e pale and cold and dead — Come thou. Scatter them back to the ivory gate and be alone and rule the night. Surely all worlds are nothing to Love for Love to flash thro' the night and come ; Hither and thither he flies at will, with thee he dwelleth — there is his home. Come, O Love, with a voice, a message ; haste, O Love, on thy wings of light. Love, I am calling thee. Love, I am calling : dost thou not hear my crying, sweet ? Does not the live air throb with the pain of my beating heart, till thy heart beat 1 — Surely momently thou wilt be here, surely, O sweet Love, momently. 26 SONGS AND SONNETS No, my voice would be all too faint, when it reached Love's eai', tho' the night is still. Fainter ever and fainter grown o'er hill and valley and valley and hill, There where thou liest quietly sleeping, and Love keeps watch as the dreams flit by. Ah, my thought so subtle and swift, can it not fly till it reach thy brain, And whisper there some faint regret for a weary watch and a distant pain 1 — Not too loud, to awake thy slumber ; not too tender, to make thee weep ; Just so much for thy head to turn on the pillow so, and understand Dimly, that a soft caress has come long leagues from a weary land, Turn and half remember and smile, and send a kiss on the wings of sleep. SONGS AND SONNETS 27 ACCIDIA There breathes a sense of Spring in the boon air : The woods are ambei', purple, misty red, Primrose and violet rouse them from their bed, Their skiey homes the patient rooks repair ; Everywhere hope is rife, joy everywhere ; But I thy heart lie yet unquickened, And bleating lambs and larks that sing o'erliead Charm not away my sluggish cold despair. Peace, peace, fond heart; thy spring-tide is not this ; Thy sap of joy mounted, though flowers were sere, That day, though leaves fell thick before the West. Nor grudge nor envy thou a natural bliss. Birds keep their season, thou through all the year May'st sing thy song, soar skyward, make thy nest. 28 SONGS AND SONNETS IMPRISONED The last half-hour is come and past, The last good-bye is said, The outer door is shut, the last Faint echo fallen dead. My heart too is shut fast, shut fast, Close barred with bars of lead. None may come in, none may go out ; I sit apart alone ; Long days I sit, silent, in doubt If the heart be turned to stone ; Long months — and then one day, a shout ;- At once the walls fall down. SONGS AND SONNETS 29 LOVE UNRETURNED My soul, where is the fruit of life-long pain To render to the husbandmen above ■? Thou hast been watered by my tears of love For that pure spirit whose serene disdain Pierced like a ploughshare thro' thee, leaving plain Forgotten depths wind-sown, whereout I strove Unceasingly to gather what might prove, In time of harvest, tares instead of grain. " Alas ! " my soul said, " had but Love passed .by And cast into the furrows, as he went Sowing beside all waters in the spring, Methinks I had borne fruit abundantly For God to garner, as He sits intent Above the angels at their winnowing." 30 SONGS AND SONNETS BEAUTY These other things of earth and sky Are still most beautiful, and yet I still can love them quietly. That broad flush where the sun has set Lingering awhile for the moon's sake, And the grey sea, I shall forget. Why will forgetful ness not take The troubled longing from my heart Which thy flushed face and grey eyes make Art thou, thou only, more than part Of this great beauty of the whole, That but for thee my quick nerves start ? Hast thou some hidden magic of soul Which draws my eyes and hands and feet As the moon draws the waves that roll ? SONGS AND SONNETS 31 It may be, for I know well, sweet, I have no word to say at best. But the wave's word which the winds repeat. (Moon, is this spell thy potentest ? Cannot the waves mount up to heaven, Or else this tossing sink to rest ?) Conjure no more ; let me be given To love thy beauty peacefully Like sunshine or the silver Seven. 32 SONGS AND SONNETS HOPE I SHALL not see liim yet, I know, for still Between us lies an unsurmounted hill, And tho' I hurry and pant, his pace is slow ; Yet shall I see his sunny face and hair (For he will surely come to meet me) there In the last valley somewhere, that I know. What the' he pauses in the pleasant wheat To watch the lark mount skyward, do my feet Pause or my eyes desert the path they climb 1 What tho' he strays where pleasant voices call Of thrush or dove or woodland waterfall 1 My ears hear nothing till that meeting-time. Will my strength last me ?— did not someone say The way was ever easier all the way. The road less rough, the barren waste less'^bare 1 The briars are long since past, the stones cut less. This hill is not so steep, let me but press Across that peak, I know he will be there. SONGS AND SONNETS 33 HEART AND WIT It is not for infinity, For larger air, and broader sea, I long, but for one child, ah me ! Desolate in my room I sit. And my heart, questioned by my wit. Makes poor attempts to answer it. A mere child. Yes, a child whose face Is all I care for, to express Colour and form, and time and space. Who prattles nonsense. Ay, may be, But woven throughout with subtlety, Far, far too deep and high for me. While you say nothing. For my speech Would break the spell that the weird witch Has finely wrought from each to each. Can it be love ? Poor feeble word ! Confounding each emotion stirred By God or man or tree or bird. c 34 SONGS AND SONNETS WhM is it ? Nay, I know not, good ; For I would learn it, if I could, This mystery of flesh and blood. But this I know, that sun and star Are less to me and far less far Than certain lights and shadows are. SONGS AND SONNETS 35 LOVE THE MASKER {Anacreontic) I. On a summer day, Under leaves for sky, Stretched at ease we lay. When the heat gan die, When the light grew mild, Came there wandering by, O, a lovely child, Fair as the Winged Boy, Came and looked and smiled. " Stay, here's many a toy, Child, whoe'er you be." Said he, " I am Joy." So he stayed, and we Crowned his hair with buds, Bent and bowed the knee. 36 SONGS AND SONNETS Brought him Summer's goods Made him king for play In the leafy woods. " Now, child, home away, We have kept you long." But the child would stay. " Sing then one last song, Sing and go," we said, " Night may do you wrong." Then we kissed the red Darling lips, and he Homeward wandered. n. On a winter's night When the storm was o'er And the snow lay white, I unlatched the door. Drawn to watch the moon Shining keen and frore. There upon the stone Crouched a child, behold ! Sleeping or in, swoon. SONGS AND SONNETS ^ Ah, his face was cold, Pinched and wan and thin 'Neath his hair of gold. " Chafing heat may win ; Quick, or the child dies." So we chafed his skin ; Till with many sighs Th' eyelids opened, Then we saw his eyes. " O, sweet Joy," we said, " O our summer king, Thou wert all but dead. Say what luckless thing Drove thee thro' the snow, Hither wandering 1 " " Nay, my name is Woe," Said the child, " nor where Am I, do I know, Nor who pay me care : But I must away, On my journey fare." 38 SONGS AND SONNETS " Nay, our darling, nay, Whatso thy name be, Hither didst thou stray ; We have longed for thee, We have found and saved ; Ours thou art, agree." But his gold locks waved As he shook his head, Laughed, and echoed " saved " ! Then his wings light-spread Beat, and he was gone, And we worshipped. SONGS AND SONNETS 39 LOVE AND DUTY O BLUE eyes, bright with sapphire blaze, Dear mantling cheek, a ruby fire. My eyes, 'tis, light the light I praise, Your cheek on mine that flushes higher. Ah, could these fires their force sustain. Each draw from each and find no loss — Nay, waxing as the pulses wane Reforge the heart and purge its dross ! Think it not ; all things slide away ; Nor can love's light and heat abide, Tho' eyes on eyes be fixed alway. And cheek be ever cheek beside. Yet if that star, of many one, Which blazes stedfast o'er our head, Lead up our eyes, as each day's done. And thro' our eyes its influence shed, Till thro' our hearts there flows with peace Of equal pulse the same desire, — Then eyes and cheeks shall never cease To glow and feed each other's fire. 40 SONGS AND SONNETS POLONAISE {Cho2)in, Op. 40, 2) So long, so long, the solitary night : But day will break and bring the happy light, And then I shall arise and see the sun. Nay, for the night has fallen eternally, The shadow of death is heavy over me. There is no rising up for such a one. No gay glad day, no quiet twilight hour, No mist of morning or sweet noon-day shower, No twitter of birds or murmur of labouring men; Only the wizard mockery of the moon. The wind repeating the same weary tune. The dreams that light a little, and fly again. SONGS AND SONNETS 41 LOCA SENTA SITU The rushes stand where the rushes stood, Stiff and tall, but the lake is dry ; They will stand so still in the lonely wood, Till the world shall die. No wind makes rustle the weary reeds ; The gentle gale and the rushing blast As they follow where spring or the storm-king leads, Pause aghast. The red sun flames with a steady light. No smallest cloud in the brazen skies ; The moon looks down with a pale affright In her quiet eyes. No song of bird can now come near, No buzz of insect ever again. No ripple of pleasant water, or tear Of the dripping rain. The reeds stand now where the reeds then stood. Above them hangs the silent sky ; Around them shivers the lonely wood, And the lake is dry. 42 SONGS AND SONNETS ROSE-FEUIT They praised me when they found the new- born bud, And all my blood Flamed, as I burst in blossom, to requite Their dear delight. And still they praised my beauty, as I grew In the sun's view ; Then what will be their joy, said I, to find My fruit behind ! But when the wind came, and revealed at last My heart set fast, They said, " 'Twere well this cumbering thing should go ; New buds will blow." SONGS AND SONNETS 43 SONG Is this the spring that wanders With sad and wistful eyes, And idly inly ponders The grey and vacant skies ? Is this true spring or seeming That sits with sunken head 1 O yes, for she is dreaming Of winter that is dead. Is this the spring that quickens The violets in the vale. And all the woodland thickens With primrose-blossoms pale ? Is this true spring or seeming That smiles along the way ? O yes, for she is dreaming Of laughter of the May. NATUEE'S CAEAVANSERAI Take down the tapestries we hung for Summer, And spread them for a carpet on the floor ; "pis faded, but 'twill serve for the new-comer. The Queen may come again ? Fresh are in store. 44 SONGS AND SONNETS WHISPERS AT COUET October I. Come away, away, Summer at length is sped. Was ever a Kng so gay 1 And now he lieth dead. Kiss we his brother's hand. Who reigns in the Southern' land. ir. Stay and see, and. see ; Summer was glorious, But gorgeous pageantry Doth little profit us. His Queen (if truth be told) Will scatter abroad his gold. November I. Come now, O come. Autumn her gold hath spent ; And through the palace doth roam Moaning her discontent. Her voice is shrill and drear, A weariness to hear. SONGS AND SONNETS 45 II. Stay yet, O stay, Winter will reign to-night. Did you not mark to-day His bitter smile in her sight 1 He hath a plot, I ween, To carry captive the Queen. 46 SONGS AND SONNETS AVE ATQUE VALE The beech has fallen in the gale, The gentle beech we loved so long. Alas, could wintry winds avail To work such envious wrong ! No more shall April make thee brave With silken leaves, nor e'er again Thy streaming tresses toss and wave Flashing their gems of rain ; AVhile haply sheltering boy or maid Looks startled up, and deems he sees The green, pale light thro' roofs of jade In fairy palaces. No more shall mavis to his mate Warble, or gossip, sparrows cheep In thy loved bowers, or jackdaws prate On caucus matters deep ; SONGS AND SONNETS 47 Or sweet May's bird his mystery ply Cutting smooth jewels of ringing song, To grace with trembling ecstasy Night's ear, that waited long. Who planted thee, I know ; and praise His ghost, and here within my hall (That once was his,) have set his face. For a memorial ; — A stately priest with powdered hair, In cassock trim and decent bands ; My fancy sees him fix thee there With tender, fostering hands. Goodbye ; low lying at my feet I hail, I wail thee as my sire. And with due rites and dirges meet Will light thy funeral pyre. 48 SONGS AND SONNETS FIRST SNOW The fallows yellow and frigid "Mongst frozen snow-fields lie : The black trees lift up rigid Their arms to the leaden sky. O'er barns and haystacks whitened The larches sigh and sway ; The hedgerow grasses are lightened With light not of the day. And sheep on the south slope lirowsing Close huddled for the cold, In a silvery mist drowsing, Have all their fleece of gold. But I know tho' round and above her Are spells of the wizard Death, That waiting the Spring, her lover, Summer but slumbereth. And I would my heart were lying, Where Summer lies asleep. Lulled by the fir-trees sighing, And tinkling bells of sheep. SONGS AND SONNETS 49 THE KOBIN IX JANUARY (" Hey rohin, jolly robin") Gkeej^^ again, O green to-day- Garden lawn, and mossy park ; They have laid awhile away Winter's ermine cloak ; and hark, Hark, our robin, who but he ? Singing blithe as blithe can be. 'Tis not passion's melting note, Though his breast be red like fire ; Nor can his, like thrush's throat, Raise to rapture each desire : 'Tis a song of simplest joy, Like the laughter of a boy. Robin, keep thy happy heart. Through the year so well begun : Live and love, unheard, apart, So may we when Summer's done, Tired with art and passion-spent, Hear and share thy sweet content. D 50 SONGS AND SONNETS TO THE NIGHTINGALE IN SEPTEMBER ( VillaneUe) Child of the muses and the moon, O nightingale, return and sing, Thy song is over all too soon. Let not night's quire yield place to noon. To this red breast thy tawny wing. Child of the muses and the moon. Sing us once more the old sad tune Pandion heard when he was king, Thy song is over all too soon. Night after night thro' leafy June The stars were hush'd and listening, Child of the muses and the moon. Now new moons grow to plenilune And wane, but no new music bring. Thy song is over all too soon. Ah, thou art weary ! well, sleep on, Sleep till the sun brings back the Spring Thy song is over all too soon, Child of the muses and the moon. SONGS AND SONNETS 51 NIDDERDALE Two things I love in this most lovely dale : A stream of amber water, clear and chill, O'er slope stones slipping, or at wayward will Breaking smooth silence to a silver tale ; A fir-wood then, fanned by a gentle gale To loose its scent ; within the trunks are still, And pillar a dark shrine for dreams to fill ; Between the stems the unsunned grass is pale. Two things I loved ; but thou, O lovelier Than these, hast all that these were worth to me ; Thy clearer eyes know more of change and stir Than all the brooks, thy tongue more melody ; And 'neath thy shadowy hair, thy serene face Makes sanctuary in the holy place. 52 SONGS AND SONNETS TO COMATAS TV 5' VTTo dpvfflv r) vwb TreijKais aSu fieXiffdo/j-evos /carafce/cXtcro, Oele Ko^ora. Hkre on this garden's close-cut grass. Where here and there a leaf astray Lies yellow, till the wind shall pass And take it some new earthy way, Here, O Comatas, let us lie While yet the autumn sun is high. The stir of men is quiet now. But birds are singing each to each ; The robin on the apple bough Sings to the robin in the beech ; And swallows twitter as they go Wheeling and sweeping high and low. No sound but these sweet madrigals To our enclosed garden comes, Save when a ripened ajDple falls. Or gnats intone, or a wasp hums. Here shall thy voice bid time speed by, O boy Comatas, as we lie. SONGS AND SONNETS 53 Sing some old rhyme of long ago, Of lady-love or wandering knight, Of faithful friend and valorous foe And right not yet estranged from might ; The songs our singers sing us now, O boy Comatas, sing not thou. Sing, for thy voice has gentle power To cancel years of fret and woe. And I remembering this one hour. Shall pass sad days the happier so ; And thou before the sun has set, O boy Comatas, wilt forget. 54 SONGS AND SONNETS GOING DOWN HILL ON A BICYCLE A Boj/s Song With lifted feet, hands still, I am poised, and down the hill Dart, with heedful mind ; The air goes by in a wind. Swifter and yet more swift, Till the heart, with a mighty lift, Makes the lungs laugh, the throat cry : — " bird, see ; see, bird, I fly. Is this, is this your joy, O bird, then I, though a boy. For a golden moment share Your feathery life in air ! " Say, heart, is there aught like this In a world that is full of bliss 1 "Tis more than skating, bound Steel-shod to the level ground. SONGS AND SONNETS 55 Speed slackens now, I float Awhile in my airy boat ; Till when the wheels scarce crawl, My feet to the treadles fall. Alas, that the longest hill Must end in a vale ; but still. Who climbs with toil, wheresoe'er, Shall find wings waiting there. 56 SONGS AND SONNETS NATURAL HERALDRY The rain is over, that so long Has chilled the tender-hearted May ; Chaffinch and thrush resume their song : Come, children, come : come out to play ; Leave crests and shields, and con with me A still more antique heraldry. See, in a field of azure sky, Whose tincture glows without a stain, Mid argent clouds dispersedly The sun in splendour shines again ; While of them both^ the fountains flow In barry-wavy streams below. Here on a mount are fir and beech. And counterchanged by every breeze Leaves of all foils , and flowers each Proper, in chief the fleur-de-lis ; And look where barbed and seeded blows Argent and gules the rival rose. 1 i.e., of argent and aztire. SONGS AND SONNETS 57 Two-headed eagles are not here, Or crested peacocks in their pride, But two-legged martlets build, and steer With wings displayed their circles wide ; And emulate with grub and fly Your pelican in her piety. In this field vert, parted per pale, No lion ramps or gryphon prances But Dobbin whisks a couped tail. And Meg as salient as a lance is ; And what supporter could surpass Lucius, our sturdy golden ass ? 58 SONGS AND SONNETS SOME FLOWERS Poets sing you fancies About Love and Death, Night and Day. Do not give them pansies ; " That's for thoughts," one saith Give them bay. If the soldier's quarrel Be for right, not might, God and King, Let them bind the laurel Round his brows at night, Glorying. For the lover roses, Roses for his love. Till they die ; When the churchyard closes O'er them, strew above Rosemary. SONGS AND SONNETS 59 For the parson rueful, Herb of grace, not sense, Here is rue ; Let the sleepy pewful. With a difference, Wear it too. TRIOLET Under the sun There's nothing new ; Poem or pun, Under the sun. Said Solomon, And he said true, Under the sun There's nothing new. ,:lj RELIGIOUS PIECES V THE TREE OF LIFE A Recognition in four Season!^ Argument A prophet, desiring to recover for men the fruit of the Tree of Life, seems to find Paradise by certain traditional signs of beauty in nature. He is further persuaded by observing the beauty and innocence of children. By and by he comes upon the Tree of Knowledge, whose fruit, now old, he dis- cerns to be evil ; but from which, to his desire, new is brought forth, which is good. At each recognition one of the Guardian Angels of the Tree of Life is withdrawn, until there is left only the Angel of Death, in the light of whose sword he perceives it. The Angels' songs are not heard by the prophet. I. Speing Prophet O TREE of life, blissful tree, Old as the world, still springing green, Planted, watered by God ; whose fruit Hath year by year fallen about the root, And century by century ; Grant me that I thy glory unseen At last attain to see ! 64 RELIGIOUS PIECES Chorus of Angels The flame of our eyes still hideth The fatal tree : Which God in charge confideth That none may see, Till Against our light advances A purer ray, A nd melts with fervid glances Our swords of day. Prophet Considerate This garden I consider : if not the wise lilia agri quo- • -n viodo crescunt. Repute it Paradise, The wise may err and ancient fame be lost ; As Ophir on the swart Arabian coast, — Whence she, of Saba queen. In silk raiment and gold, Bearing spices manifold. Not unlike this lily's purer sheen, Came a weary way to salute Solomon, Fainting to see, and fainted having seen Such wisdom dazzled from his throne, — Now Ophir lies unknown ; Yet stumbling haply on gold, a man shall say Who feeds his flocks by the well, RELIGIOUS PIECES 65 "Lo Ophir ! " what if I to-day A like token recover, and tell. Chorus of Angels The fire of our heart presages {And gins to dim,) That though through ageless ages We wait for him, He comes ; our glory retires, And shrinks from strife, Folding in closer fires The Tree of Life. Prophet Goeth up a mist, To water the ground from the four streams at even ; Wrapt in a veil of amethyst The trees and thickets wait for Spring to appear, An angel out of heaven, Bringing apparel new for the new year ; In the soft light the birds Reset to the loved air the eternal words. And in the woods primroses peer. 66 RELIGIOUS PIECES Angel of tJie Spring He hath seen me with eyes of wonder And named my name, My shield is riven in sunder, And quencht viy flome : My task is done, and rewarded, If faithfully ; By others now is guarded The mystic tree. II. Summer Prophet O tree of life, blessed tree, When shall I thy beauty attain to see 1 New fledged ev'n now, new canopied with green, (Not darkening ever as these in brooding heat,) To beasts of the field a screen, A shadowy bower for weary eyes and feet : Tree by tree musing, I find not thee. Sinit See, in the rippling water the children at play, parvulos, &c. i i • , t i i • i Hashing hither and thither, diamonded with spray ; Lithe and fair their limbs, their hearts light and gay— As fair as they of Niobe ; I I RELIGIOUS PIECES tJ7 Divinely fair, but too divinely famed ; Not so now let it be. Children of Adam these by birth proclaimed, Clasping a mother's breast, a father's knee, By father's father named. Ay, but see, but see, Their mien how high, how free their spirit ! They are naked and not ashamed Of that translucent veil, that symmetry. How they shout for glee ! It is tTie primal joy, and not the curse they inherit. A child of Adam, a child of God can he be 1 O look, look and see ! The Angels of Children His ear through nature^ noises, Wherever he trod, Could hear in the children's voices The praise of God. Our task is done, and rewarded. If faithfully. By others noio is guarded The mystic tree. 68 RELIGIOUS PIECES III. Autumn Prophet Say who are ye upon this bank reclining, At random laid, Where loaded boughs a diaper intertwining Of fragrant shade, Stretch down their fruits to cheer the heart's re- pining. Didt enivi They hear me not, asleep, or drunken, or (ah !) dead. est. O Tree of Knowledge, 'tis thou, tree divine Of good and ill ; — trembling, I view thee. To me, as them, thy golden apples incline. Able to slake my thirst, or else undo me. Which shall I pluck, which dread Of all their goodlihead ? If roots be twain, from which there flows To these elixir, poison to those. How can I track their currents through the stem Which bears and buries them ? Nay, but it cannot be the tree of good ; 'Tis utter evil ; to nearer view The fruit dislustres, dull of hue. All its ripe vermilion vanished, Dead fruit, not human food ; And these mistaking souls from life are banished. RELIGIOUS PIECES 69 But see, — a wonder, — lo, on each branch swells A new fruit ruddy-rinded, that smells Freshly, and from their places in decay The old shrivel, and drop away. The ripeness allures to taste, what should stay me? Ill was the old, but the new is goodly and sweet ; A blessing is in it, desire to greet. Not a curse to slay me ; (O divine the taste !) Of the blind to open the eyes, Deaf ears to unstop, make wise The feeble-hearted, and to-day (O haste !) For these poor dead the tree of life display ! Angel of the Tree of Divine Knowledge The old fruit which evil hringeth He hath eschewed; I breathe, and a new fruit springeth ; He saw it good. My task is done ; and rewarded, If faithfully ; By others now is guarded The mystic Tree. 70 RELIGIOUS PIECES IV. Winter Prophet I had thought ere this to have blest mine eyes With thy vision benign, immortal tree ; For since that fruit, more than with Euphrasy, My spirits are all alert, my sense more keen. Nor is the north that chides with the stript boughs An enemy, if it shows All these but mortal, though in Paradise. But thou, O still unseen, Come into sight ; not yet I faint, but abide And ever abide, yearning thee to behold. Thee following, this girdling forest wide, My heart by hope made bold, I have laboured through, and now emerge at length Torn by the briers, spent my strength ; But branches wintry-bare deny the sheen Of the amaranthine- leaves and fruit of gold. Till now at last the light Fails from my hope as from the heaven. Where marshal the clouds, blown up with boisterous breath ; The trees strain from the blast of death Shrieking convulsed, so fierce the hail is driven Across the vault of night. RELIGIOUS PIECES 71 And now the waving brand Of a cherub lightens down And rends the air with crashing din ; Ah, if it be by God's command To show light in the darkness of nature's frown That I my purpose win ! It flashes and still flashes, and now I see Quiperdiderit animam Beyond the blaze glooming a tree, a tree, suam inveniet. Stately and large, — (O light deceive not, O. weary eyes not now believe not !) — Unseen before ; to that I press. Despite the tempest and limbs' tardiness. Lighten, O sword divine, to clear my way. And thou, O happy heart, upstay Steps that falter and swerve, since few Remain ; come light again, I shall win through. Angel of Death My flame he hath not abhorred, Nor nature^ strife, But lightened through my sivord, Hath passed to Life. My. task is done ; and reioarded, If faithfully ; Henceforth no more is guarded, The mystic tree. 72 RELIGIOUS PIECES PEAYERS God who created me Nimble and light of limb, In three elements free, To run, to ride, to swim : Not when the sense is dim, But now from the heart of joy, I would remember Him : Take the thanks of a boy. Jesu, King and Lord, Whose are my foes to fight, Gird me with Thy sword. Swift and sharp and bright. Thee would I serve if I might ; And conquer if I can. From day-dawn till night, Take the strength of a man. Spirit of Love and Truth, Breathing in grosser clay. The light and flame of youth, Delight of men in the fray. Wisdom in strength's decay ; From pain, strife, wrong to be free. This best gift I pray, Take my spirit to Thee. RELIGIOUS PIECES 73 LINES ON A YOUNG FRIEND WHO DIED JUST BEFOEE TAKING ORDERS Put off thy shoes from off thy feet : — So came a voice to thee (tho' shod With preparation, to make meet For God) from God. _No vision nor similitude . He showed thee then, but, higher grace, His Godhead's self, nor veil-endued, But face to face. Now not by word, O slow of speech, Shalt thou the ills of life console, Nor tongue to ear thy gospel preach. But soul to soul. A FUNERAL The snow is frozen hard upon the ground, Hard frozen is the grief in every eye ; The south will blow, and all these tears unbound Shall find thy face together, by and by. 74 RELIGIOUS PIECES DURING THE ANTHEM The windows shake with the wind Of the organ-peal above ; But angels there enshrined Keep their still look of love : The boys below in the choir Sing plangent notes that drown My heart in tears of fire, But leave unvexed their own. No steadfast angel I ; No thoughtless innocent, Through whom God's praise may cry Nor scorch the way it went ; Child-haven left, my bark Rides a tumultuous sea. That far, far port its mark, — The saints' serenity. RELIGIOUS PIECES 75 AMBITION Unsummoned they arrive, and pass unchecked, Tall, fair, and chaplet-decked ; With wreaths of berried myrtle to allure. Myrtle and bay with glistening dew fresh-varnished ; But some bear gold, and some but lilies pure. Some roses heavy-petalled, heavy-scented. Or that sweet bud of May Which lives its hour and falls contented ; But who not knows, who knows so well as I That but to touch is loss, their show a lie ; — The flowers are shrivelled, and the gold is tarnished. So well as I who knows ? But who so well, O sole, O sovereign rose. How life itself lives but to touch and take ; For that the blood rejoices, the limbs ache. The brain ferments, the throat is dry ; It is the world, life, I ; Though fate forbid, it must be mine, must, must ! 'Tis mine ; a moment, and 'tis summer dust. 76 RELIGIOUS PIECES O heart of golden fire, Self -coined in idle pulse of passionate desire, Wilt thou desire inherit ? Then nurse thy flames till they be white from red, And let the ore be shed Into the seething cauldron of thy spirit ; And when the minute strikes, pour ; and behold True steel, more potent than the finest gold. RELIGIOUS PIECES 77 THE PLOUGHED MEADOW Cowslip and daffodil Spring here for whoso will In the merry meadow Where all the weeds are flowers ; Kine will not eat them, But all the sunny hours Merry maidens pleat them, Till night brings shadow. Dafibdils die away, Cowslips, from light of day. When the plows shear it, And earth's heart is broken ; Blood-poppy takes their place, Sharp sorrow's token ; Charlock, the land's disgrace, Assays to cheer it. Dare we then blame the plow, 'Cause darnel springs up now 1 Where lurked the charlock seeds. 78 RELIGIOUS PIECES When the meads were merry ? What sower planted them 1 Say, who would bury Seeds of them ? who wanted them, Flowers that were only weeds ? Envoy daughter mine, O thou, Thou art the meadow, now All thy weeds are flowers. But soon will dawn the hours WTien thy heart must be broken. When conscience shall shear thee, And heart's blood be the token. Then will shew the weeds Springing apace, apace, Darnel, the heart's disgrace, And charlock, in pale pride. Assaying to cheer thee. But let one sow, sow wide In the furrow, and take heed The seed is the good seed — It shall choke charlock and darnel, For that seed is eternal. RELIGIOUS PIECES 79 KIBKOTH-HATTAAVAH Moses. Hot sun, dry sand, yet dew Morning and night descends ; Praise God who giveth you His own Angels for friends, Who thus your table dress In wildest wilderness. Israelite. O heavy toil to gather, O tasteless, sapless bread, Than such faint life far rather In the Red Sea we were dead. With manna day by day Our soul is dried away. Moses. Souls mine, brought forth Avith pain, Nursed, carried at my breast. Weep not, nor murmur again. For surely at last comes rest — At last, after this toil A land of wine and oil. 80 RELIGIOUS PIECES Israelite. Not so, father, not so. That land comes never nigher ; We move but to and fro, Following a cloud and fire Blown by the winds in heaven, Aimless, as sands are driven. Moses. Nay, but can ye forget How from the further coast Ye passed, nor your feet were wet. But Pharaoh and his host Were whelmed by the wall of sea, And you, children, were free ? Israelite. Freedom is this ? then liever Slavery in Egypt's vales, Where flows the sevenfold river Whose fish shine with bright scales, Where grow fruits without number. Green melons, green cucumber. Moses. See from the darkened dawn What clouds the Spirit brings ; Hark, near and nearer drawn The whirr of infinite wings ! Praise God, fall at His feet. Who hath given you flesh to eat. RELIGIOUS PIECES 81 Israelite. Flesh, sweet flesh once more : In the veins blood, joy at heart : For a week, a month, as of yore Bliss : . . . . ah, too sweet thou art : Dark falls, I bite the dust Of the grave, the grave of lust. 82 RELIGIOUS PIECES CAIAPHAS The signal comes ; Azazel's goat is dead. Dead too our sin, and — the atonement fit Such as His people may to God All-dread Present and live, — have paid their lives for it A bullock and a ram ; that, type of sin ; This, symbol of obedient hearts within. And now I wash : O whiter than white snow, Whiter than these white robes make Thou my hands, Use Thou as I the hyssop, for I go Before Thy Face to do Thy dear commands. I lift the veil, and thro' the awful dark Scatter the blood towards the Holy Ark. So it is done : For you, O people mine Thus year by year doth your High-priest atone ; Pouring the innocent blood of goats and kine, Bending before the mency-seat alone. Lo, ye are clean ; O bruised, afflicted sore, God hath forgiven you, go, and sin no more. RELIGIOUS PIECES 83 Ay, put away from you the accursed thing, Schism and sedition ; give to all their dues : Why make a Christ when Csesar is your King, Why kick against the pricks, O foolish Jews 1 Surely 'twere well that one mad man should die. And not the whole people perish utterly. ON A MADONNA AND CHILD OF BELLINI Yeaes pass and change ; mother and child remain : Mother so proudly sad, so sadly wise. With perfect face and wonderful calm eyes. Full of a mute expectancy of pain : Child of whose love the mother seems so fain. Looking far off, as if in other skies He saw the hill of crucifixion rise, And knew the horror, and w^ould not refrain. Yet all that pain is over in very deed, And only love shines from those eyes alway ; Love to fulfil the world's enormous need, Light to illuminate the devious way. Still brighter as the centuries recede, And more and more unto the perfect day. S4 KELIGIOUS PIECES DOUBT O THAT we too, above this earthly jar One clear command obeying, we too might Our path preordinate direct aright, Moving in music where the planets are ; Or motionless like to a fixed star Might wait and watch above this weary night The far-off coming of the morning light, His feet upon the eastern hills afar. Alas, alas ! bewildered, desolate, A horror of thick darkness wraps us round. And some sit sadly down and weep and wait, And some fall headlong in the gulf profound. And some creep on by their own torches' blaze :- O sun, shine forth, as in the ancient days. RELIGIOUS PIECES 85 UNDER THE CANOPY Yes, it is good for us that we are here ; Scarlet, and blue, and purple in the sky, The covering of the holy sanctuary, By day obscured, at last by night shines clear. Lo, yonder sinking sun is flaming there In evening sacrifice to God most high, And yonder moon is praying quietly, And her one star holdeth his taper near. Yes, good for us, albeit men may say Could we climb higher past the paths of men. Vague mists would shew for all that fine linen. And all that purple and scarlet turn to grey. It may be, yet for us they keep their hue, And if thou climb beyond, there is still the blue. 86 RELIGIOUS PIECES KNOWLEDGE AFTER DEATH SiCClNE separat amara mors? Is death so bitter ? Can it shut us fast Oflf from ourselves, that future from this past, When time compels us through those narrow doors ? Must we supplanted by ourselves in the course, Changelings, become as they who know at last A river's secret, never having cast One guess, or known one doubt, about its source ? Is it so bitter % Does not knowledge here Forget her gradual growth, and how each day Seals up the sum of each world-conscious soul 1 So tho' our ghosts forget us, waste no tear ; We, being ourselves, would gladly be as they, And we, being they, are still ourselves made whole. RELIGIOUS PIECES 87 CREATION God said, and the light was, and the light said, " Lo, I am God " ; and the light changed and died. And grew a great tree which on every side Thrust out and would have filled the earth, but ' stayed, Finding itself not God ; and there was made A little bird with a shrill voice that cried, " God, God, God, God," till evening, when its pride Breathed itself out at a man's feet dismayed : And Adam said, " I, I am God," and ate And saw that he was naked, and for shame He died like the poor bird ; and him did Seth Hide underground with Abel, and then wait Wondering if he were God, or if there came One mightier who would not let slip God's breath. 88 RELIGIOUS PIECES A SONG OF THE THREE KINGS " And finding by the sudden waning of the brightest star that the Blessed Virgin was sick, they made haste to take all manner of healing herbs and depart to Nazareth. But when they found her already dead, they returned sorrowfully to their own country."— History of the Three Kings. She is dead, ah, she is dead, Silent is that gentle breath. Still and low that golden head, That sweet mouth is stopped in death. Wherefore now we bring to her Gold and frankincense and myrrh. She is dead, yes, she is dead, Never may we see again Purest, holiest maidenhead. Mother without spot or stain. Mid the sleeping lilies fold Myrrh and frankincense and gold. Lo, we come from very far With all simples that we have, Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar, Ah, we came too late to save. Scatter we ere we go hence Gold and myrrh and frankincense. RELIGIOUS PIECES 89 FKOM THE ITALIAN OF GIOVANNI DELL' LSOLA " There shall be no more sea," the prophet saith, Beyond the dark and silent strait of death, Purple like wine, or blue as summer skies, Or fleecy white beneath the Nereids' breath. Methinks the aged seer in some strange wise Was rapt into Love's inmost Paradise, And saw the Apocalypse of heaven afar, Gazing in Love's unfathomable eyes ; Eyes of fine fire that weeping cannot mar, More clear and crystalline than any star. O Love, in heaven what need of any sea ? Thine eyes are deeper than the deep seas are. Thy voice reverberates all the mystery And music of all waters that can be : Voices like flutes blown soft in unison, And thunders of tempestuous harmony. 90 RELIGIOUS PIECES O Love, what need have we of any sun Or moon in thine own city, whereupon The light shed from thy bright hair's aureole Makes pale the lustrous candles round thy throne. O Love, with hair aflame and shining stole. Who rose with wing'd feet from the flash and roll Of waters where yet all things were as one, First of the Gods and Saviour of the soul ? SEPAKATION Quis dahit mihi jjennas siQut columbae, et volabo, et requiescam Let us not strive, the world at least is wide ; This way and that our different paths divide, Perhaps to meet upon the further side. We must not strive ; friends cannot change to foes ; O yes, we love ; albeit winter snows Cover the flowers, the flowers are there, God knows. And yet I would it had been any one Only not thou, O my companion, My guide, mine own familiar friend, mine own ! TRANSLATIONS THE SWALLOW SONG Sung hy Greek hoys from door to door when the first sivalloiv came over sea Come, come is the swallow, With fair spring to follow. She and the fair weather Are come along together. White is her breast. And black all the rest. Roll us a cake Out of the door From your rich store For the swallow's sake, — And wine in a flasket. And cheese in a basket. And wheat-bread and rye. These the swallow will not put by. Will you give us or shall we go If you will, why rest you so ; 94 TRANSLATIONS But and if you shall say us nay, Then we will carry the door away, Or the lintel above it, or easiest of all Your wife within, for she is but small Give us our need And take God speed. Open door to the swallow then, For we are children and not old men. FROM ALCMAN Maidens with voices like honey for sweetness, that breathe desire. See I faint ; for no sea-bird I, as I would be, nor tire Over the foam-flowers flying with halcyons ever on wing, Keeping a careless heart, a sea-blue bird of the Spring. TRANSLATIONS 05 FROM SAPPHO When thou fallest in death, dead thou shalt lie, nor shall thy memory Henceforth ever again ever be heard then or in days to be. Since no flowers upon earth ever were thine, plucked from Pieria's spring, Unknown also 'mid hell's shadowy throng thou shalt go wandering. FROM CALLIilACHUS O IF swift ships had never, had never sailed the sea. Poor child of Diocleides, we had not wept for thee ; But now thy body is drifting on some unknown abyss. And this thy name and empty toml) is all of Sopolis. 96 TRANSLATIONS FROM MENANDER Him I call happiest, Parmeno, Who having seen this solemn show, The common sun, the clouds, the sea. The stars and fire, not painfully, Goes quickly back from whence he came. For you would see them still the same If you abode for two or three Short years, or for a century ; But grander sights you would not see. FROM LEONIDAS Now is the time to sail, for home The twittering swallow now has come, And Zephyr bloweth graciously. Yea, and the meads are fair to see. With spring-flowers, and the ocean still, ^Vhere late the fierce waves worked theit" will And the wild wind went winnowing. Heave up the anchor. Shoreward fling The hawser, pilot, and make sail With canvas spread for every gale. "Tis I Priapus bid thee this, O man, whose charge the harbour is, So may'st thou sail to every sea. And bring thy merchandise with thee. TRANSLATIONS »7 FROM THEOCRITUS Have a care of life, O man, Seeing how small is all its span. In the season of fierce weather. Put not out to sea. Lest thou perish as did he, Ship and man together. For he hasted without care To bring home his Syrian ware. Home to Thasos beautiful — Cleonicus miserable ! When the Pleiades 'gan sink He put forth on stormy seas. But never reached the further brink. Sinking with the Pleiades. G 98 TRANSLATIONS FROM MELEAGER I WILL twine the violet, And with soft narcissus set Laughing lilies, and with these Myrtles and sweet crocuses, Hyacinth that purple blows, And the lover-loving rose. These for garlands will I pour On thy head, my Heliodore, On thy locks of curling hair, On thy tresses sweet with myrrh. II. O pour the wine, and as you pour, Say Heliodore, Heliodore, Ever and ever, o'er and o'er. And bring a chaplet for my hair, Yesterday's chaplet, sweet with myrrh, To wear in memory of her. TRANSLATIONS 99 Ah, look, the lover's rose distrest, Is weeping now to see her rest Otherwhere, not upon my breast. III. Tears, bitter tears, all I can give, ■ Tears to the depths to thee I pour, To thee in Hades, Heliodore, All of my love that there may live. The tearfull'st tears I pour to thee. Tears of libation, wept above Thy tomb in memory of my love. In memory of thy love to me. Ah, with what sighs, with what tears shed, I, Meleager, mourn thy face. To Acheron a bootless grace. To me still dear among the dead. Alas, my blossom, whither must I seek thee now '? Hades it is. Hades hath snatched away my bliss. And trod the perfect flower to dust. 100 TRANSLATIONS Yet shall not tears disturb thy rest ; Rather, I pray thee, mother earth, Our mother thou, who gav'st us birth, To fold her gently to thy breast. rv. Bridegroom none but death alone Has my Clearista won, So to loose her virgin zone. Yester eve the flutes blew sweet, Bridegroom and the bride to greet. And the bridal doors were beat. Now at dawn they sound again, But another sadder strain, Hymen's song is hushed in pain ; And the torch that flared so gay. Lighting up her bride's array. Lit the dead her downward way. V. Now white violets blow, and blows The narcissus in the showers And the mountain-wandering TRANSLATIONS 101 Lily, and at last the rose, Loving lovers, even she, Peitho's child, Zenophile, Flower of spring and flower of flowers, Buddeth, sweetly blossoming. Meadows, tho' your flowers are bright, Tho' you laugh, your laugh is light. For the maid is rarer far Than your sweetest garlands are. VI. Love I cry, the truant love. Now, but now at break of day Did he from his couch remove, Spread his wings and fly away. Ever-prattling is the child. Sweetly tearful, laughing-sly, Quiver-girt, of spirit wild. Swift of foot and swift to fly. Who his father none can tell. Heaven and earth profess to me They are not responsible For this brave ; so says the sea. 102 TRANSLATIONS All men hate him everywhere. Look you well in every part, Lest unseen he lay a snare, Gentle hearer, for your heart. Ah, the archer ! there he lies, Hid beneath my mistress' brow. In the shadow of her eyes, Darting at me even now. VII. He shall be sold, even on his mother's breast As he lies ; yes, sold ; why should I rear him, pray? A snub-nosed, impudent rascal at the best. " ' Has wings and dimples," you say ! He can scratch, I know, and blubber, the shameless chit ; And his tongue is never still, nor his eyes : nay, nay. He is fierce to his own mother ; depend on it, A wild thing, every way. So sell him ; an out-bound merchant who wants to buy A boy may take him aed welcome ; O I say. He's crying ; dear, dear ! well, I won't ; don't cry, 'Shall stay with magmma, 'shall stay. TRANSLATIONS 103 VIII. " The die is cast ! a torch ! I will abroad ! Coragio." — "'Sayst thou, drunkard, what's thy mind 1 "— " To revel." — " Eevel ? have thy wits resigned ? " " What's wit to love ? Thy torch and quickly ! the road ! "— " And your philosophy, where lies its use 1 " — " Ah, great the toil to win, what now I lose ? " Know then that Love sways even wisest Zeus." IX. The windy winter from the sky is gone. The purple spring-time brings the flowers with glee, The wan earth puts her grassy garland on, And fresh leaves deck each quick'ning plant and tree. Fed by soft dew-drops of the genial dawn, With opening roses all the meadows smile. Clear pipes the shepherd on the mountain-lawn. And grey-haired kids the goat-herd's heart beguile. Now o'er the sea's broad back the sailors fare, Unwearied Zephyr fills the swelling sail ; Now, wreaths of clustering ivy in their hair, To the grape-giver Bacchants shout all hail ; ](M TRANSLATIONS New-born from out the teeming heifer's womb The hived bees their curious labour ply, And in the fretted hollows of the comb The white fresh-flowing honey-drops lay by. Now every tribe of birds sings clear and shrill, The twitt'ring household swallow in the dale, The halcyon and the swan on wave and rill. And shadow'd in the grove the nightingale. If then the forest boughs and leaves rejoice, If earth has burgeon'd and the shepherd sings, And fleecy flocks make merry with one voice, And sailors go on their sea- wanderings. When Dionysus leads his jocund quire. And winged songsters tune their various lay, And bees go labouring on and never tire, "Why should the singer only not be gay ? TRANSLATIONS 105 FROM SOPHOCLES My fortune circles ever in the pace ^ Of God's revolving wheel, And all its nature changes with its place. Like as for no two nights the moon's wan face Can keep the same form still ; But first from out the unseen to birth is brought Then grows in grace and night by night enspheres, Till when the fulness of her prime appears, She dwindles back and comes again to nought. H 106 TRANSLATIONS FROM THE ILIAD The Greek and Trojan armies join battle As when sea-waves upon a sounding shore Rise wave on wave, the west wind blows them up, First out at sea a crest, and at the end A breaker loudly bellowing on the beach, And round the capes a crescent mounting high Spitting sea-froth ; so ever wave on wave The Danaan army moved along to war. Each chief called to his men ; and they moved on, A great crowd following dumbly. You would say In all their hearts there was no human voice. Silent they watched the signals, and on all Shone dazzling armour, as they moved in rank. But as when sheep stand in some rich man's fold Ten thousand, and white milk is drawn from them, They bleat the while, hearing the bleating lambs. So of the Trojans thro' the broad array A tumult rose, for not to all alike Was one same speech or voice, but mixed their tongue TRANSLATIONS 107 Summoned from many lands ; these Ares roused, Grey-eyed Athene those, and Dread and Fear And Discord sister of Ares, slayer of men, Kestless and eager, ever by his side. Small is her stature first, but at the end Her feet move on the earth, her head strikes heaven. She moved then down the midst, and thro' the host Cast mutual hate, and increase of men's groans. So when they came together to one place, Shield clashed on shield, and spears and strength of men In brazen armour clanged, and bossy shields Closed on each other, and there rose a roar. And with it cries and prayers of those who slew And those they slew, and the earth ran with blood. And as when winter torrents down the hills Rush from their mighty founts where two glens meet. And the strong streams meet in the deep ravine, And shepherds hear the thunder on the hills. Such was the roar and stress of meeting men. TV Of the poems in this volume, a few appeared in Love in Idleness (Kegan Paul & Co.) ; a few others in Love's Looking Glass (Ri\'ington, Percival & oo.) ; and one. No. xvi. of those called " In a Garden," in the National Observer: these last are here reprinted by the coiirtesy of the publishers. TUBKBDLL AKD SPEARS, PEDtTSBS, EDINST7BGH. List of Books in J^elles Jettres 1S95 ALL BOOKS IN THIS CATALOGUE ARK PUBLISHED AT NET PRICES Telegraphic Address — ' Bodleian, London 1895. List of Books IN BELLES LETT RES {Including some Transfers) Published by John Lane VIGO STREET, LONDON, W. A^. 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