A long, low wail of harps across the snow,
Falling and rising with the whistling wind;
A shifting glare of lights that come and go,
As if men searched for what they could not find.
And then the music thrilled out loud and well
Over the waste and barren dunes of sand—
Solemn and stately as a passing bell
Heard dimly in some weary twilight land.
Then slipped the moon behind a dusky cloud,
And each bright star its silver visage hid;
Mystery 'gan the darkness to enshroud;
Across the sky a blood-red message slid.
Sudden the ship blazed up, the dark was light;
Lo! Scald is dead! his pyre was lit to-night.
JUDITH LYTTON
A Day Remembered
Oh, Love, what fate is ours? No summer morning
Shall give us joy, no sunrise bring relief;
No end—no end is there unto our sorrow,
No measure to our grief.
You looked at me, and all your living beauty
Swept to my heart in flame a moment's space,
A sudden mist of tears in darkness veiling
The glory of your face.
You spoke: I seemed to hear the wild doves cooing—
The rain upon the hills, sweet falling rain;
And all my soul was filled with joy and anguish,
In ecstasy of pain.
I saw as in a mist celestial visions
Beyond the bitter seas whence hope has fled,
Heard the wind blow among the trees in summer,
But knew not what you said.
It matters not what words the lips have spoken
When heart shall speak to heart, for love can hear
Unspoken words, and see as in reflection
His own thoughts mirrored there.
You came to me, the sun arose in splendour;
I saw the roses spread their petals sweet,
And thought that all the world must see in wonder
The wings upon our feet.
You touched me, and a wave of passionate longing
Flooded my soul until it swooned away,
And knew no more the sunlight from the shadow—
If it were night or day.
We wandered in the shadow of the woodland,
Mute while we looked into each other's eyes,
And saw as in still pools of darkened water
The wonder of the skies.
No word we spoke. We knew that love had silenced
All that we wished to speak yet left unsaid;
The bees were humming in the wild-rose blossoms
Which clustered overhead.
And all that summer day we were together,
Alone with love, yet with a sword between—
The flaming sword that stands between us ever,
And all that might have been.
Mist gathered white at evening in the valleys,
And slowly grew the dusk from gold to grey,
While rain-clouds gathered on the low horizon
Dark at the close of day.
And softly rose a wind from out the darkness,
With scent of flower and fern and herb and tree,
And in its breath there came a sound of thunder,
Storm-laden from the sea.
And thus we reached the wicket of the garden;
The wood was full of sound, the sound of wings;
The scent of lavender brought back remembrance
Of long-forgotten things.
Though heaven and earth and sky should be forgotten,
Yet of that hour my soul should bear the trace:
For night fell fast, and in the deepening shadow
You turned and kissed my face.
Childhood
A stranger come I to the festival
Thou holdest in the regions of romance,
Where dragons lurk and elfin spirits dance,
And pearls lie hid within each rose petal.
What magic changes in life's crystal ball
Shall thus transform earth's dullness at thy glance!
Ride then the wind, a feather for thy lance,
A pool thy sea, thy heaven a waterfall.
So shall thy soul to fairy worlds belong,
Where dust is gold and dew-drops turn to wine;
Remember still the visions that are thine
When sorrow shall disperse that phantom throng;
And dream once more that thou hast found divine
Love in a flower, and kingdoms in a song.
Love in Idleness
To look at thee, and see the sunlight move
The shadow of the leaves upon thy face,
Lighting the glory of thy youth and grace
With golden rays wind-stirred from trees above;
To listen to the rustling of the grove,
The warblers in the reeds which interlace
The waters of the pool, and dream a space,
Forgetful of the hours ... this then is love!
Thy passion and thy strength, thy gentleness,
All these are mine. Who then shall dispossess
My soul of paradise? In truth I learn
More than the world can teach. Oblivion waits,
And distance parts, and Death annihilates:
But now thy love is all my love's concern.