Part 15 (2/2)

[Ill.u.s.tration]

ANTEROS.

I.

This is the feast-day of my soul and me, For I am half a G.o.d and half a man.

These are the hours in which are heard by sea, By land and wave, and in the realms of s.p.a.ce, The lute-like sounds which sanctify my span, And give me power to sway the human race.

II.

I am the king whom men call Lucifer, I am the genius of the nether spheres.

Give me my Christian name, and I demur.

Call me a Greek, and straightway I rejoice.

Yea, I am Anteros, and with my tears I salt the earth that gladdens at my voice.

III.

I am old Anteros; a young, old G.o.d; A sage who smiles and limps upon a crutch.

But I can turn my crutch into a rod, And change my rod into a crown of wood.

Yea, I am he who conquers with a touch, And plays with poisons till he makes them good.

IV.

The sun, uprising with his golden hair, Is mine apostle; and he serves me well.

Thoughts and desires of mine, beyond compare, Thrill at his touch. The moon, so lost in thought, Has pined for love; and wanderers out of h.e.l.l, And saints from heaven, have known what I have taught.

V.

Great are my griefs; my joys are multiplex; And beasts and birds and men my subjects are; Yea, all created things that have a s.e.x, And flies and flowers and monsters of the mere; All these, and more, proclaim me from afar, And sing my marriage songs from year to year.

VI.

There are no bridals but the ones I make; For men are quicken'd when they turn to me.

The soul obeys me for its body's sake, And each is form'd for each, as day for night.

'Tis but the soul can pay the body's fee To win the wisdom of a fool's delight.

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