THE RITE OF JUPITER
Of the sage asphodel,
And the Daedal flower
Of the Cretan bower;
Dittany‘s force,
And larkspur’s love,
And blossoms of gorse
Around and above.
AGAVE.
The tiger and panther
Are here at my cry.
Ho, girls
I
Span there
Their sides
I
[st MAENAD.
Here am I.
2nd MXENAD. And I
!
We are ready.
AGAVE.
Strong now and steady I
Ist MIENAD. The tiger is harnessed.
2nd MAENAD. The nightingale urges
Our toil from her far nest.
3rd M/ENAD. Ionian surges
Roar back to our chant.
4th M/ENAD. Aha
I for the taunt
Of Theban sages
Is lost, lost, lost!
The wine that enrages
Our life is enforced.
We dare them and daunt.
AGAVE.
The spirits that haunt
The rocks and the river,
The moors and the woods,
The fields and the floods,
Are with us for ever
I
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