THE LOST SHEPHERD
XII
Then did I learn the lore of Earth,
For mine was the light of Pan ;
The barren riddle unsolved by birth
Was solved as the hot fire ran.
The god’s tongue flashed, and he roared with glee
At each spasm he drew from the breast of me,
And the mystery of Panic mirth
Lay bare in the sight of a man.
XIII
And many a love long since I’ve known,
And many a city rare ;
I have sung and harped, I have fought and flown,
I have wandered everywhere.
But the thought of that day by the water-side,
The god’s hot breath and the hidden bride,
Makes me more shy as I wander alone,
Unknowing whither I fare.
XIV
And in the morning Pan rose and fled,
And left me alone to sleep;
And long I lay in a slumber dead.
Then on hands and knees did I creep
Back to the shade of the sheltering trees ;
And I found my sheep on the shady leas;
And my body was flushed, and my cheeks were red,
And my eyes too bright to weep.
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