Tannhäuser

That even the quick and dead, Being mortal, mix in our eternal sea ! Distil we love from all the universe ! Defy the early curse ! Bid thorns and thistles mingle in delight ! And from the athanor of death and pain Bring golden showers of rain To crown our bed withal, the empire of the Night ! O Wife! Incarnate Beauty self-create! O Life ! O Death ! Love unimaginable ! Despair grows hope, as hope grows desperate ; And Heaven bridges the great gulf of Hell. Thy life is met with mine, Transmuted, grown divine. Even in this, the evil of the world ! What agony is this. The first undying kiss From jewelled eyes and lips in passion curled ? O sister and O serpent and O mate. Strike the red fang of hate Steady and strong, persistent to the heart ! So shall this song be made more terrible With the soul-mastering spell. Choke, stagger, know the Evil, Beauty's counterpart ! Whose long-drawn curse runs venom in my veins ? What dragon spouse consumes me with her breath ? 62