Relationships and Family

Dance Figure

For the Marriage in Cana of Galilee


Dark-eyed,
O woman of my dreams,
Ivory sandalled,
There is none like thee among the dancers,
None with swift feet.
I have not found thee in the tents,
In the broken darkness.
I have not found thee at the well-head
Among the women with pitchers.
Thine arms are as a young sapling under the bark;
Thy face as a river with lights.


White as an almond are thy shoulders;
As new almonds stripped from the husk.
They guard thee not with eunuchs;
Not with bars of copper.


Gilt turquoise and silver are in the place of thy rest.
A brown robe, with threads of gold woven in
patterns, hast thou gathered about thee,
O Nathat-Ikanaie, 'Tree-at-the-river'.


As a rillet among the sedge are thy hands upon me;
Thy fingers a frosted stream.


Thy maidens are white like pebbles;
Their music about thee!


There is none like thee among the dancers;
None with swift feet.

Canto 13

Kung walked
by the dynastic temple
and into the cedar grove,
and then out by the lower river,
And with him Khieu Tchi

and Tian the low speaking
And "we are unknown," said Kung,
"You will take up charioteering?

"Then you will become known,
"Or perhaps I should take up charioterring, or archery?
"Or the practice of public speaking?"
And Tseu-lou said, "I would put the defences in order,"
And Khieu said, "If I were lord of a province
"I would put it in better order than this is."
And Tchi said, "I would prefer a small mountain temple,
"With order in the observances,

with a suitable performance of the ritual,"
And Tian said, with his hand on the strings of his lute
The low sounds continuing

after his hand left the strings,
And the sound went up like smoke, under the leaves,
And he looked after the sound:

"The old swimming hole,
"And the boys flopping off the planks,
"Or sitting in the underbrush playing mandolins."

And Kung smiled upon all of them equally.
And Thseng-sie desired to know:

"Which had answered correctly?"
And Kung said, "They have all answered correctly,
"That is to say, each in his nature."
And Kung raised his cane against Yuan Jang,

Yuan Jang being his elder,
For Yuan Jang sat by the roadside pretending to
be receiving wisdom.
And Kung said
"You old fool, come out of it,
"Get up and do something useful."

And Kung said
"Respect a child's faculties
"From the moment it inhales the clear air,
"But a man of fifty who knows nothng

Is worthy of no respect."
And "When the prince has gathered about him
"All the savants and artists, his riches will be fully employed."
And Kung said, and wrote on the bo leaves:

If a man have not order within him
He can not spread order about him;
And if a man have not order within him
His family will not act with due order;

And if the prince have not order within him
He can not put order in his dominions.
And Kung gave the words "order"



and "brotherly deference"
And said nothing of the "life after death."
And he said


"Anyone can run to excesses,
"It is easy to shoot past the mark,
"It is hard to stand firm in the middle."


And they said: If a man commit murder
Should his father protect him, and hide him?
And Kung said:
He should hide him.


And Kung gave his daughter to Kong-Tchang
Although Kong-Tchang was in prison.
And he gave his niece to Nan-Young
although Nan-Young was out of office.
And Kung said "Wan ruled with moderation,

"In his day the State was well kept,
"And even I can remember
"A day when the historians left blanks in their writings,
"I mean, for things they didn't know,
"But that time seems to be passing.
A day when the historians left blanks in their writings,
But that time seems to be passing."
And Kung said, "Without character you will

"be unable to play on that instrument
"Or to execute the music fit for the Odes.
"The blossoms of the apricot

"blow from the east to the west,
"And I have tried to keep them from falling."

Ballatetta


The light became her grace and dwelt among
Blind eyes and shadows that are formed as men;
Lo, how the light doth melt us into song:


The broken sunlight for a healm she beareth
Who hath my heart in jurisdiction.
In wild-wood never fawn nor fallow fareth
So silent light; no gossamer is spun
So delicate as she is, when the sun
Drives the clear emeralds from the bended grasses
Lest they should parch too swiftly, where she passes.

Au Jardin

O you away high there,
you that lean
From amber lattices upon the cobalt night,
I am below amid the pine trees,
Amid the little pine trees, hear me!


'The jester walked in the garden.'
Did he so?
Well, there's no use your loving me
That way, Lady;
For I've nothing but songs to give you.


I am set wide upon the world's ways
To say that life is, some way, a gay thing,
But you never string two days upon one wire
But there'll come sorrow of it.
And I loved a love once,
Over beyond the moon there,
I loved a love once,
And, may be, more times,


But she danced like a pink moth in the shrubbery.
Oh, I know you women from the 'other folk',
And it'll all come right,
O' Sundays.


'The jester walked in the garden.'
Did he so?

Arides


The bashful Arides
Has married an ugly wife,
He was bored with his manner of life,
Indifferent and discouraged he thought he might as
Well do this as anything else.


Saying within his heart,’I am no use to myself,
'Let her, if she wants me, take me.'
He went to his doom.

An Immorality

Sing we for love and idleness,
Naught else is worth the having.


Though I have been in many a land,
There is naught else in living.


And I would rather have my sweet,
Though rose-leaves die of grieving,


Than do high deeds in Hungary
To pass all men's believing.

A Virginal

No, no! Go from me. I have left her lately.
I will not spoil my sheath with lesser brightness,
For my surrounding air hath a new lightness;
Slight are her arms, yet they have bound me straitly
And left me cloaked as with a gauze of aether;
As with sweet leaves; as with subtle clearness.
Oh, I have picked up magic in her nearness
To sheathe me half in half the things that sheathe her.
No, no! Go from me. I have still the flavour,
Soft as spring wind that's come from birchen bowers.
Green come the shoots, aye April in the branches,
As winter's wound with her sleight hand she staunches,
Hath of the trees a likeness of the savour:
As white their bark, so white this lady's hours.

Albatre


This lady in the white bath-robe which she calls a
peignoir,
Is, for the time being, the mistress of my friend,
And the delicate white feet of her little white dog
Are not more delicate than she is,
Nor would Gautier himself have despised their contrasts
in whiteness
As she sits in the great chair
Between the two indolent candles.

The Visionary

Silent is the house: all are laid asleep:
One alone looks out o’er the snow-wreaths deep,
Watching every cloud, dreading every breeze
That whirls the wildering drift, and bends the groaning trees.


Cheerful is the hearth, soft the matted floor;
Not one shivering gust creeps through pane or door;
The little lamp burns straight, its rays shoot strong and far:
I trim it well, to be the wanderer’s guiding-star.


Frown, my haughty sire! chide, my angry dame!
Set your slaves to spy; threaten me with shame:
But neither sire nor dame nor prying serf shall know,
What angel nightly tracks that waste of frozen snow.


What I love shall come like visitant of air,
Safe in secret power from lurking human snare;
What loves me, no word of mine shall e’er betray,
Though for faith unstained my life must forfeit pay.


Burn, then, little lamp; glimmer straight and clear—
Hush! a rustling wing stirs, methinks, the air:
He for whom I wait, thus ever comes to me;
Strange Power! I trust thy might; trust thou my constancy.

Silent is the House

Come, the wind may never again
Blow as now it blows for us;
And the stars may never again shine as now they shine;
Long before October returns,
Seas of blood will have parted us;
And you must crush the love in your heart, and I the love in mine!

R. Alcona to J. Brenzaida
Cold in the earth, and the deep snow piled above thee!
Far, far removed, cold in the dreary grave!
Have I forgot, my Only Love, to love thee,
Severed at last by Time's all-wearing wave?
Now, when alone, do my thoughts no longer hover
Over the mountains on Angora's shore;
Resting their wings where heath and fern-leaves cover
That noble heart for ever, ever more?


Cold in the earth, and fifteen wild Decembers
From those brown hills have melted into spring--
Faithful indeed is the spirit that remembers
After such years of change and suffering!


Sweet Love of youth, forgive if I forget thee
While the World's tide is bearing me along:
Sterner desires and darker hopes beset me,
Hopes which obscure but cannot do thee wrong.


No other Sun has lightened up my heaven;
No other Star has ever shone for me:
All my life's bliss from thy dear life was given
All my life's bliss is in the grave with thee.


But when the days of golden dreams had perished
And even Despair was powerless to destroy,
Then did I learn how existence could be cherished,
Strengthened and fed without the aid of joy;


Then did I check the tears of useless passion,
Weaned my young soul from yearning after thine;
Sternly denied its burning wish to hasten
Down to that tomb already more than mine!


And even yet, I dare not let it languish,
Dare not indulge in Memory's rapturous pain;
Once drinking deep of that divinest anguish,
How could I seek the empty world again?


(March 3, 1845)

If grief for grief can touch thee

If grief for grief can touch thee,
If answering woe for woe,
If any truth can melt thee
Come to me now!


I cannot be more lonely,
More drear I cannot be!
My worn heart beats so wildly
'Twill break for thee--


And when the world despises--
When Heaven repels my prayer--
Will not mine angel comfort?
Mine idol hear?


Yes, by the tears I'm poured,
By all my hours of pain
O I shall surely win thee,
Beloved, again!

A Little Budding Rose

It was a little budding rose,
Round like a fairy globe,
And shyly did its leaves unclose
Hid in their mossy robe,
But sweet was the slight and spicy smell
It breathed from its heart invisible.


The rose is blasted, withered, blighted,
Its root has felt a worm,
And like a heart beloved and slighted,
Failed, faded, shrunk its form.
Bud of beauty, bonnie flower,
I stole thee from thy natal bower.


I was the worm that withered thee,
Thy tears of dew all fell for me;
Leaf and stalk and rose are gone,
Exile earth they died upon.
Yes, that last breath of balmy scent
With alien breezes sadly blent!

You see I cannot see—your lifetime

253

You see I cannot see—your lifetime—
I must guess—
How many times it ache for me—today—Confess—
How many times for my far sake
The brave eyes film—
But I guess guessing hurts—
Mine—got so dim!


Too vague—the face—
My own—so patient—covers—
Too far—the strength—
My timidness enfolds—
Haunting the Heart—
Like her translated faces—
Teasing the want—
It—only—can suffice!

Within my reach!

90

Within my reach!
I could have touched!
I might have chanced that way!
Soft sauntered thro' the village-
Sauntered as soft away!
So unsuspected Violets
Within the meadows go-
Too late for striving fingers
That passed, an hour ago!

Within my reach!

90

Within my reach!
I could have touched!
I might have chanced that way!
Soft sauntered thro' the village-
Sauntered as soft away!
So unsuspected Violets
Within the meadows go-
Too late for striving fingers
That passed, an hour ago!

Wild Nights-Wild Nights!

249

Wild Nights-Wild Nights!
Were I with thee
Wild Nights should be
Our luxury!


Futile-the Winds-
To a Heart in port-
Done with the Compass-
Done with the Chart!


Rowing in Eden-
Ah, the Sea!
Might I but moor-Tonight-
In Thee!

Whose are the little beds, I asked

142

Whose are the little beds, I asked
Which in the valleys lie?
Some shook their heads, and others smiled-
And no one made reply.


Perhaps they did not hear, I said,
I will inquire again-
Whose are the beds-the tiny beds
So thick upon the plain?


'Tis Daisy, in the shortest-
A little further on-
Nearest the door-to wake the Ist-
Little Leontoden.


'Tis Iris, Sir, and Aster-
Anemone, and Bell-
Bartsia, in the blanket red-
And chubby Daffodil.


Meanwhile, at many cradles
Her busy foot she plied-
Humming the quaintest lullaby
That ever rocked a child.


Hush! Epigea wakens!
The Crocus stirs her lidsRhodora's
cheek is crimson,
She's dreaming of the woods!


Then turning from them reverent-
Their bedtime 'tis, she said-
The Bumble bees will wake them
When April woods are red.

Why do I love You, Sir?

"Why do I love" You, Sir?
Because—
The Wind does not require the Grass
To answer—Wherefore when He pass
She cannot keep Her place.


Because He knows—and
Do not You—
And We know not—
Enough for Us
The Wisdom it be so—


The Lightning—never asked an Eye
Wherefore it shut—when He was by—
Because He knows it cannot speak—
And reasons not contained—
—Of Talk—
There be—preferred by Daintier Folk—


The Sunrise—Sire—compelleth Me—
Because He's Sunrise—and I see—
Therefore—Then—
I love Thee—

Where Thou art—that—is Home

725

Where Thou art—that—is Home—
Cashmere—or Calvary—the same—
Degree—or Shame—
I scarce esteem Location's Name—
So I may Come—


What Thou dost—is Delight—
Bondage as Play—be sweet—
Imprisonment—Content—
And Sentence—Sacrament—
Just We two—meet—


Where Thou art not—is Woe—
Tho' Bands of Spices—row—
What Thou dost not—Despair—
Tho' Gabriel—praise me—Sire—

Where Thou art—that—is Home

725

Where Thou art—that—is Home—
Cashmere—or Calvary—the same—
Degree—or Shame—
I scarce esteem Location's Name—
So I may Come—


What Thou dost—is Delight—
Bondage as Play—be sweet—
Imprisonment—Content—
And Sentence—Sacrament—
Just We two—meet—


Where Thou art not—is Woe—
Tho' Bands of Spices—row—
What Thou dost not—Despair—
Tho' Gabriel—praise me—Sire—

What would I give to see his face?

247

What would I give to see his face?
I'd give-I'd give my life-of course-
But that is not enough!
Stop just a minute-let me think!
I'd give my biggest Bobolink!
That makes two-Him-and Life!
You know who "June" isI'd
give her-
Roses a day from Zanzibar-
And Lily tubes-like WellsBees-
by the furlong-
Straits of Blue
Navies of Butterflies-sailed thro'-
And dappled Cowslip Dells-


Then I have "shares" in Primrose "Banks"-
Daffodil Dowries-spicy "Stocks"Dominions-
broad as Dew-
Bags of Doublons-adventurous Bees
Brought me-from firmamental seas-
And Purple-from Peru


Now-have I bought it"
Shylock"? Say!
Sign me the Bond!
"I vow to pay
To Her-who pledges this-
One hour-of her Sovereign's face"!
Ecstatic Contract!
Niggard Grace!
My Kingdom's worth of Bliss!

What is—

215

What is—"Paradise"—
Who live there—
Are they "Farmers"—
Do they "hoe"—
Do they know that this is "Amherst"—
And that I—am coming—too—


Do they wear "new shoes"—in "Eden"—
Is it always pleasant—there—
Won't they scold us—when we're homesick—
Or tell God—how cross we are—


You are sure there's such a person
As "a Father"—in the sky—
So if I get lost—there—ever—
Or do what the Nurse calls "die"—
I shan't walk the "Jasper"—barefoot—
Ransomed folks—won't laugh at me—
Maybe—"Eden" a'n't so lonesome
As New England used to be!

Wert Thou but ill—that I might show thee

961

Wert Thou but ill—that I might show thee
How long a Day I could endure
Though thine attention stop not on me
Nor the least signal, Me assure—


Wert Thou but Stranger in ungracious country—
And Mine—the Door
Thou paused at, for a passing bounty—
No More—


Accused—wert Thou—and Myself—Tribunal—
Convicted—Sentenced—Ermine—not to Me
Half the Condition, thy Reverse—to follow—
Just to partake—the infamy—


The Tenant of the Narrow Cottage, wert Thou—
Permit to be
The Housewife in thy low attendance
Contenteth Me—


No Service hast Thou, I would not achieve it—
To die—or live—
The first—Sweet, proved I, ere I saw thee—
For Life—be Love—