THE MOTHER
129
And kisses
and
mad
movements
of quick love
Burnt up his being , and his life was lost
In woman's love at last ! 1
This was
the
love , or rather lust , of
“ that filthy
sorceress .
We are now rapidly approaching
the realms of the
abnormal ; for good and evil are
the
toys of love as
well as those of fate .
The nymph and the satyr , the fair and the faulty alike are
the guests of these amorous shades.2
The virility of lust
is
vividly
illustrated
in
“
The
Blood -Lotus
" :
Foam whips their reeking lips , and still the flower -witch
nestles
to my lips ,
Twines
her swart lissome legs and
hips , half serpent
and half
devil , till
My whole self seems
to
lie
in
her
;
her kisses draw my breath
;
my face
Loses
its
lustre
in
the grace
of
her quick bosom
;
sinister
The
raving
spectres
reel
;
I
see
beyond
my
Circe's
eyes
no
shape
Save
vague cloud
-
measures
that escape
the dance's whirling
witchery
.
Clothed with my flower
-
bride
I
sit
,
a
harlot
in
a
harlot's dress
,
And laugh with careless wickedness
.
And with our laughter's nails refix
his
torn flesh faster
to
the
wood
,
And
with
more
cruel
zest
make good
the
shackles
of
the
Crucifix
.3
|
The Argonauts
,
vol
.
ii,
p
.
100
.
2
Mysteries
:
Lyrical
and Dramatic
,
vol
.
i,
p
.
90
.
3
Oracles
,
vol
.
ii,
p
.
14
.
K