The Star in the West

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.