Orpheus

The coral and annihilated land, Or though the swarthy hand Or foot misshapen of the Hephaestian, (Hating the air-breathing man, In such sweet love as dwells, above all other places Here, in our hearts and faces, Nature’s and man’s) if his coarse hand or foot, The implacable forceful brute, Shifted towards the bellows, and one blast Blew thorough all the air aghast And in one vast Titanic war, Almighty avenging roar, Oahu flung skywards blown in dust—and was no more— Even then immortal stands This loveliest of all lands, Lovelier even than they Know in Elysian paths, heroic bands Treading dim gardens brighter than the day, Even in his voice who is passed, and shall not pass away! Here therefore I know Nature; I am filled With dew not earth-distilled As I have prayed in vain, not vainly willed. Now all the earth is stilled ; But ever the monotonous sea Keeps solemn symphony, Tuning my lyre to her own melody, Not understandable in colder lands Where no man understands More than the mart; the raucous ironshod Feet, smashing verses; the hard heavy hands 99