Alice: An Adultery

LOVE AND FEAR The rose of the springtime that bended Its delicate head to the breeze Is crimson and stately and splendid Now summer is here and at ease ; Love risen as the sun hath transcended its passion and peace. In a garden of dark foliage that clusters Round your face as a rosebud withdrawn, New splendour springs carmine and lustres Your cheeks with the coming of dawn, Love’s light as an army that musters its plumes—and is gone. For fear as a fountain, that trembles With wind, is arisen, and hides The light of your love, and dissembles The roar of the passionate tides ; Though a flickering flame it resembles, love is, and abides. 49