White Stains

128 ‘ ‘ ² Åü¿Â That burnt my blood, and flung me in her arms, Whose filthy kisses and thrice loathly charms, Her purple lips, her acrid redolence, Her black lewd limbs, her breasts, whose foul incense Smoked like hell’s mouth though pendulous they hung, Her devilish black belly, and her tongue Sharp as a tiger’s tooth, lured on my lust. Oh ! God in heaven ! It is turned to dust And dung and corpse-flesh ! I can see even here (For changeful spectres haunt me) how a tear Of blood stood on my breast at her first bite : And day grew dusk, and twilight turned to night, And her vast coffin stood at hand. And there Naked as hell, legs wide flung out in the air, She lay and called me “ Sata ”. As I came, Feeling a Satan, such a deathly flame Of lust of loathliness was kindled here In my bad blood, I leapt upon the bier, And consummated all the strange desire That burnt and branded all my blood with fire, Buried my teeth and limbs in swarthy flesh, While blood and sweat begat desire afresh, And yet twelve times the black womb vomited, And we lay there chilled bitterly, and dead,