"When the sun lingered o'er his ocean floor To gild his rival's new prosperity; Thou wouldst forget thus vainly to deplore "Ills which, if ills, can find no cure from thee, The thought of which no other sleep will quell, Nor other music blot from memory; "So sweet and deep is the oblivious spell. And whether life had been before that sleep The heaven which I imagine, or a hell "Like this harsh world in which I wake to weep, I know not. I arose; and for a space The scene of woods and waters seemed to keep, Though it was now broad day, a gentle trace Sheds on the common earth, and all the place "Was filled with magic sounds woven into one Oblivious melody, confusing sense Amid the gliding waves and shadows dun. "And, as I looked, the bright omnipresence "Burned on the waters of the well that glowed Like gold, and threaded all the forest's maze With winding paths of emerald fire. There stood "Amid the sun,-as he amid the blaze Of his own glory, on the vibrating Floor of the fountain paved with flashing rays— "A Shape all light, which with one hand did fling Dew on the earth, as if she were the dawn, And the invisible rain did ever sing "A silver music on the mossy lawn; And still before me on the dusky grass Iris her many-coloured scarf had drawn. "In her right hand she bore a crystal glass, Mantling with bright nepenthe; the fierce splendour Fell from her as she moved under the mass "Out of the deep cavern, with palms so tender Their tread broke not the mirror of its billow. She glided along the river, and did bend her "Head under the dark boughs; till, like a willow, Her fair hair swept the bosom of the stream That whispered with delight to be its pillow. "As one enamoured is upborne in dream "Partly to tread the waves with feet which kissed "Or the faint morning beams that fell among The trees, or the soft shadows of the trees. And her feet, ever to the ceaseless song "Of leaves and winds and waves and birds and bees And falling drops, moved to a measure new,— Yet sweet, as on the summer evening breeze, "Up from the lake, a shape of golden dew, Between two rocks, athwart the rising moon, Dances i' the wind, where never eagle flew. "And still her feet, no less than the sweet tune To which they moved, seemed as they moved to blot The thoughts of him who gazed on them. And soon "All that was seemed as if it had been not; "Trampled its sparks into the dust of death,— As Day upon the threshold of the east Treads out the lamps of night, until the breath "Of darkness re-illumine even the least Of heaven's living eyes. Making the night a dream. Like day she came, And, ere she ceased "To move, as one between desire and shame Suspended, I said: 'If, as it doth seem Thou comest from the realm without a name "Into this valley of perpetual dream, Show whence I came, and where I am, and whyPass not away upon the passing stream.' "Arise and quench thy thirst,' was her reply. And, as a shut lily stricken by the wand Of dewy morning's vital alchemy, "I rose; and, bending at her sweet command, Touched with faint lips the cup she raised. And suddenly my brain became as sand "Where the first wave had more than half erased The track of deer on desert Labrador, Whilst the wolf, from which they fled amazed, "Leaves his stamp visibly upon the shore Until the second bursts;-so on my sight Burst a new vision never seen before. "And the fair shape waned in the coming light, As veil by veil the silent splendour drops From Lucifer amid the chrysolite "Of sunrise ere it tinge the mountain tops. And, as the presence of that fairest planet, Although unseen, is felt by one who hopes "That his day's path may end, as he began it, In that star's smile whose light is like the scent Of a jonquil when evening breezes fan it, "Or the soft note in which his dear lament "So knew I in that light's severe excess "More dimly than a day-appearing dream, "Through the sick day in which we wake to weep Glimmers, for ever sought, for ever lost. So did that shape its obscure tenour keep "Beside my path, as silent as a ghost. But the new Vision, and the cold bright car, With solemn speed and stunning music, crossed "The forest; and, as if from some dread war Triumphantly returning, the loud million Fiercely extolled the fortune of her star. "A moving arch of victory the vermilion And green and azure plumes of Iris had Built high over her wind-wingèd pavilion; "And underneath etherial glory clad The wilderness; and far before her flew The tempest of the splendour which forbade "Shadow to fall from leaf and stone. Seemed, in that light, like atomies to dance Within a sunbeam. Some upon the new The crew "Embroidery of flowers, that did enhance The grassy vesture of the desert, played, Forgetful of the chariot's swift advance; "Others stood gazing, till within the shade Of the great mountain its light left them dim; Others outspeeded it; and others made "Circles around it, like the clouds that swim Round the high moon in a bright sea of air; And more did follow, with exulting hymn, "The chariot and the captives fettered there. But all, like bubbles on an eddying flood, Fell into the same track at last, and were "Borne onward. I among the multitude Was swept. Me sweetest flowers delayed not long ; Me, not the shadow nor the solitude; "Me, not that falling stream's lethean song; Me, not the phantom of that early form Which moved upon its motion :-but among "The thickest billows of that living storm I plunged, and bared my bosom to the clime Of that cold light whose airs too soon deform. "Before the chariot had begun to climb The opposing steep of that mysterious dell, Behold a wonder worthy of the rhyme "Of him whom from the lowest depths of hell, Through every paradise and through all glory, Love led serene, and who returned to tell "The world of hate and care the wondrous story How all things are transfigured except Love; For, deaf as is a sea which wrath makes hoary, "The world can hear not the sweet notes that move The sphere whose light is melody to lovers. A wonder worthy of his rhyme! The grove "Grew dense with shadows to its inmost covers; The earth was grey with phantoms; and the air Was peopled with dim forms, as when there hovers "A flock of vampire-bats before the glare Of the tropic sun, bringing, ere evening, Strange night upon some Indian vale. Thus were "Phantoms diffused around. And some did fling Shadows of shadows, yet unlike themselves, Behind them; some like eaglets on the wing "Were lost in the white day; others like elves Danced in a thousand unimagined shapes Upon the sunny streams and grassy shelves; "And others sate chattering like restless apes On vulgar hands. Some made a cradle of the ermined capes "Of kingly mantles; some across the tiar Of pontiffs rode, like demons; others played Under the crown which girt with empire "A baby's or an idiot's brow, and made Their nests in it. The old anatomies Sate hatching their bare broods under the shade "Of demon wings; and laughed from their dead eyes To re-assume the delegated power Arrayed in which those worms did monarchize |
