Collected Works (Vol. III)

206 ORPHEUS Ay ! and with serpent hair And limbs divinely fair Didst thou, Dionysus, leap forth to the nectar air ! Ay! thus the dreams of fate We dare commemorate, Twining in lovesome curls the spoil of mate and mate. O Dionysus, hear ! Be close, be quick, be near, Whispering enchanted words in every curving ear! O Dionysus, start As the Apollonian dart ! Bury thy hornéd head in every bleeding heart! AGAVE. He is here! He is here! AUTONOE. Tigers, appear ! AGAVE. To the clap of my hand And the whish of my wand, Obey ! A'UTONOE. 1 have found A chariot crowned With ivy and vine, And the laurel divine, And the clustering smell Of the sage asphodel, And the Deedal flower Of the Cretan bower ; Dittany’s force, And larkspur’s love, And blossoms of gorse Around and above. AGAVE. The tiger and panther Are here at my cry. Ho, girls! Span there Their sides ! MAENADS. Here am IT! And I! We are ready. AGAVE. Strong now and steady ! First MANAD. The tiger is harnessed. SECOND MAENAD. The nightingale urges Our toil from her far nest. THIRD MANAD. Ionian surges Roar back to our chant. FOURTH M-ENAD. Aha ! for the taunt Of Theban sages Is lost, lost, lost ! The wine that enrages Our life is enforced. We dare them and daunt. AGAVE. The spirits that haunt The rocks and the river, The moors and the woods, The fields and the floods, Are with us for ever! MAZNADS. Are of us for ever. Evoe! Evoe! AUTONOE. Agave! He cometh! AGAVE, Cry ho! Autonoe ! ALL. Ho! Ho! Evoe Ho! Iacche! Evoe! Evoe!