32
THE STAR IN THE WEST
A curious
Swinburnian
strain
of passion
is found
wedged
in the satiric
lines of “ Why
Jesus Wept .”
Percy , the youth
flatulent
with
love , chants
to
his
Angela
- society --thus :
To me she is
The rosy incarnation
of a kiss ,
The royal rapture of a young
delight ,
The mazy music of virginity,
Sun of the day , moon of the night ,
All , all to me ! 1
And again :
Love , love , these raptures
are like springtide
rain
Nestling among green leaves .2
One more example of the diversity of Crowley's pen ,
before we deal with
his place in the history
of poetry .
In the
" God -Eater
we come
across
a most
weird
form of poetic imagination
in the chants of Rupha
the hag of Eternity :
Crafty ! Crafty !
That is the omen .
Fear not the foemen !
[ She rises up.
Mine is the spoil
Of the grimly
toil .
Gloomy , gloomy !
Ah ! but I laugh .
He is but a fool .
He has lost !
He is lost !
Take the staff !
Trace the rule
Of the circle
crossed ! 3
We have now
seen , more or less , some of the chief
influences
which
have
exerted
their
sway
over
our
poet's mind ; and I think we have shown
him to be a
2 Ibid . vol .
iii,
p
.
40
.
|
Why Jesus
Wept
,
vol
.
iii,
p
.
39
.
3
The God
-
Eater
,
vol
.
ii,
p
.
135
.