Ambergris

AMBERGRIS 55 The self-begotten, the impassive shrine, The seat of Heaven’s archipelagoes ; Yet lighted not the glory whence it came, Nor shone upon the surface of the sea. Time, and the Great One, and the Nameless Name, Held in their grip the child, Eternity. Silence and Darkness in their womb withheld That spiritual fire, and brooded still : Nature and Time, their soleness undispelled, Ever awaiting the eternal Will. And Law was unbegotten : uttermost Night Dwelt, inaccessible to sound and sight Shielded from Voice, impervious to Light. Then grew within the barren womb of this The Breath of the Eternal and the Vast, Softer than dawn, and closer than a kiss— And lo ! the chaos and the darkness passed ! At the creative sigh the Light became. Chaos rolled back in the abundant flame. The vast and mystic Soul, The firmament, a living coal, Flamed twixt the glory and the sea below. The whirling force began. The atom whirled In vortices of flashing matter : wild as snow On mountain tops by the wind-spirits hurled, Blinding and blind, the sparks of spirit curled Each to its proper soul ; the wide wheels flow, Orderly streams, and lose the rushing speed, Meet, mingle, marry. Fire and air express Their dews and winds of molten loveliness, Fine flakes of arrowy light, the dawn’s first deed, Metallic showers and smoke self-glittering For man an on. Wild the pennons spring Of streaming flame ! Then, surging from the tide, Grew the desirable, the golden one, Separate from the sun. Now fire and air no more exult, exceed, Are balanced in the sphere. The waters wide