VENUS 
 
Written in the temple of the L.I.L., No. 9, Central America. 
 
MISTRESS and maiden and mother, immutable mutable 
soul ! 
Love, shalt thou turn to another ?  Surely I give thee the 
whole ! 
Light, shall thou flicker or darken ?  Thou and thy lover are 
met. 
Bend from thy heaven and hearken !  Life, shalt thou fade 
or forget ? 
 
Surely my songs are gone down as leaves in the dark that 
are blown : 
Surely the laurel and crown have faded and left me alone. 
Vainly I cry in the sunlight ; moon pities my passion in vain. 
Dark to my eyes is the one light, aching in bosom and brain. 
 
Surely, O mother, thou knowest !  Have I not followed thy 
star ? 
I have gone whither thou goest, bitterly followed afar, 
 
 
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