Part 9 (2/2)

(_Lenox_)

There was a bush with scarlet berries, And there were hemlocks heaped with snow, With a sound like surf on long sea-beaches They took the wind and let it go.

The hills were s.h.i.+ning in their samite, Fold after fold they flowed away; ”Let come what may,” your eyes were saying, ”At least we two have had to-day.”

IV

Evening

(_Nahant_)

There was an evening when the sky was clear, Ineffably translucent in its blue; The tide was falling, and the sea withdrew In hushed and happy music from the sheer Shadowy granite of the cliffs; and fear Of what life may be, and what death can do, Fell from us like steel armor, and we knew The beauty of the Law that holds us here.

It was as though we saw the Secret Will, It was as though we floated and were free; In the south-west a planet shone serenely, And the high moon, most reticent and queenly, Seeing the earth had darkened and grown still, Misted with light the meadows of the sea.

WORDS FOR AN OLD AIR

Your heart is bound tightly, let Beauty beware; It is not hers to set Free from the snare.

Tell her a bleeding hand Bound it and tied it; Tell her the knot will stand Though she deride it.

One who withheld so long All that you yearned to take, Has made a snare too strong For Beauty's self to break.

THOSE WHO LOVE

Those who love the most Do not talk of their love; Francesca, Guenevere, Dierdre, Iseult, Heloise In the fragrant gardens of heaven Are silent, or speak, if at all, Of fragile, inconsequent things.

And a woman I used to know Who loved one man from her youth, Against the strength of the fates Fighting in lonely pride, Never spoke of this thing, But hearing his name by chance, A light would pa.s.s over her face.

TWO SONGS FOR SOLITUDE

I

~The Crystal Gazer~

<script>