Collected Works (Vol. III)

LIBER TERTIUS VEL LABORIS 201 We see thee unclouded, Whose hearts have been thinned, Whose souls have been shrouded, Whose ears are bedinned By hell’s clamour. How did The strength that has sinned Avail in the crowded Abodes of the wind? By lightning of rapture The soul of my song My love doth recapture ; Lead up to the long Years in blithe measure Of summer and ease ; Linger at leisure For passion and peace. Sadness and pleasure Relent and release :— A torrent, a treasure, A garden of Greece ! Selene, our sister, ¢ Our lover and friend, Thy light hath long missed her : That hour hath an end. All zons to squander We chance at our will: We may woo, work or wander Through time to our fill, Hither or yonder By fountain or hill, Each day growing fonder, Each night growing still ! Bright Hermes behind me Caduceus-armed Guides: shall he blind me? My spirit be charmed? The song shall not swerve her, Its glory shall shed Respite, deserve her From gulfs of the dead. Ah me! let it nerve her These conduits to tread That lead to the fervour Of earth overhead ! Fire, thou dear splendour Of uppermost space, Turn to me tender Thine emerald face ! Thy rubies be blended With diamond light ! Thy sapphires be splendid, Extended to sight ! The portals be rended That govern the night, And the guardians bended To magical might ! O air of the glorious Garb of the globe, Don thy victorious Glittering robe ! The sun is before us; The moon is above. Rise and adore us Ye dwellers thereof! The Muses restore us To Greece: as we move Swell the wild chorus Of welcome and love! Alas! that ever the dark place Should from its rocky base Give up no echo of the god’s strong stride, And no one whisper steal and thrill My heart, dissolve the ill That gathers close and fears me for my bride. I were no worse if I were blind. I may not look behind To catch one glimpse of the dear face that follows, Lest I should gain forbidden lore And wisdom’s dangerous store Of the black secrets of those heights and hollows. Alas! the way is over long, And weary of my song I sing who yearn to catch my love, and hold In such ten-thousandfold caress As shall annul distress, And from the iron hours bring the years of gold.