VI
As when the living eyes of man behold
The embalmed seductions of a queen of Khem
Wrapped with much spice and linen and red gold
And guardian gods on every side of them ;
Yet inasmuch as life is life, they shrink,
Shrivel and waste to ashes as men gaze :
So doth the world grow giddy at the brink
Of these unfathomable eyes, that blaze
Swifter and deadlier than storms or snakes.
Then — o what wonder, as I strain afar
The basilisk flame ! — what breathless wonder wakes
That I behold unsinged a silver star !
O joy! O terror! O! — O can it be
There is a thing that is, apart from me?
-- 88 -—
VII
I travelled; so the star. We neared; we saw
Each other, knew each other; in your face
Mine equal self with majesty and awe
Abode; and thus we stayed for a great space.
What was the manner of our countenance?
I saw you seated, as a great lost God
With blasphemy exulting in your glance
And horror at your lips ; my soul was shod
With glory, and your body bathed in glory,
So that from out the uttermost abyss
The very darkness churned itself to hoary
And phosphor foam of agony and bliss.
The authentic seal of our majestic might
Stamped on the light in light the light of light.
—— 8)
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