P A R T  I  
 
FAINT hymns of tender-throated bacchanals 
Sigh through the forest, and forbidden dance 
Flashes the sunlight back with rhythmic glance 
Of dewy feet that trip ;  while dainty falls 
Of spray-clad springs keep time :  the summer 
haze 
Lies on the cornfields, the pale Corybant 
Dreams to the restless breeze that flings aslant 
Locks of vain love to strange and sunless rays 
That are the kiss of Bacchos’ wanton mouth. 
On such a lawn the tender Charicles 
Stretched limbs, that greet this morning of 
the May 
With sweet shy vigour, while from the south 
Toward his lips there came the shining 
breeze 
To taste life crystal-clear and die away.