ROSA IGNOTA For the maidens that float In the heart of the river; And the secret note Sets the waves aquiver Till the naiads arise To hear the choir Of the star-lit skies, And the secret fire Of death and desire. And the rim of the flame Is pierced and torn With the spirits made tame By the breath of the morn, And the life of the fire That surges and swells From the swamp and the mire, From the million hells, And the one soft heaven Where meetly blooms The heart of the seven Supernal dooms. The water of life Still flashes and flows From the heart of the strife To the pathway that goes To the core of the Rose. 165