76
THE STAR IN THE WEST
No thunderous
note
(so common in
the
poems
of
Crowley ) lies in the above three
lines , to roll on into
the stillness
of
Immensity ; it is but
the
song of the
nightingale
by the rill of life.
Here as a vision we see
a fair
form embroidering
the
web
of existence with
the flowers that grow on the
banks of life's flowing
stream , collecting
as
she works
the
stray threads of
philosophy , of science,
of industry , of war , and of
peace ; the sweat , the laughter , the tears of existence ,
to weave
them into the great garment of Love .
This again is the true , the Higher Love :
A thousand years have
passed ,
And yet a thousand thousand
; years they are
As men count years , and yet we stand and gaze
With touching hands
and lips immutable
As mortals stand
a moment
; . .
The universe
is One ; One Soul , One Spirit ,
One Flame , One infinite God , One infinite Love . '
Truly the poet has here refined
the dross and poured
out before us the glittering
metal.
Yet what a differ
ence he makes
between
the
two great world
forces :
the love of man
for a good woman , and
the
love of
man
for a bad woman ; the first is supreme
, yet
the
other is far from being infernal .
Listen :
Yes . A good woman's love will forge a chain
To break the spirit of the bravest Greek
;
While with an harlot one may
leap again
Free as the waters of the western main ,
And turn with no heart -pang the vessel's
beak
Out to the oceans that all seamen
seek.
Another , this time a weird , charming
little
picture
of a lewd little mistress with "
a generous baby soul,"
2
· Mysteries : Lyrical and Dramatic , vol. I, p. 120. The woman
is technically a harlot .
3 Ibid . vol. i, p. 121.