THE VISION AND THE VOICE
Hil
Behold the lion-child swimmeth (in the heaven)
And the moon reeleth:—
(It is) Thou! (It is) Thou! (It is) Thou!
Triumph; the Will stealeth away (like a thief),
The Strong Will that staggered
Before Ra Hoor Khuit!—Hadit!—Nuit!
IV
To the God OAI
Be praise
In the end and the beginning!
And may none fall
Who Will attain
The Sword, the Balances, the Crown!
And that which thou hearest is but the dropping of the
dew from my limbs, for I dance in the night, naked upon the
grass, in shadowy places, by running streams.
Many are they who have loved the nymphs of the woods,
and of the wells, and of the fountains, and of the hills. And
of these some were nympholept. For it was not a nymph, but
I myself that walked upon the earth taking my pleasure. So
also there were many images of Pan, and men adored them,
and as a beautiful god he made their olives bear double and
their vines increase; but some were slain by the god, for it was
I that had woven the garlands about him.
Now cometh a song.
So sweet is this song that no one could resist it. For in
it is all the passionate ache of the moonlight, and the great
hunger of the sea, and the terror of desolate places,—all things
that lure men to the unattainable.
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