Part 2

I turned in bed: "Come in, little dream-brother." "I can only come in by the gates of sleep And by no other. Through the niche of the tiniest dream I can creep— Sleep, sister, do sleep," you said.

And so through the night we waited— You on the window-threshold there In the wet windy weather, And I abed—with breath bated, Just to catch the first moment of sleep unaware And fly kissing together.

But sleep would not come till seven, When the shivering day Looked up all chilly and grey. "Creep into bed, Little dream-brother, under my arm And I'll keep you warm." But you shook your head: "It's bed-time in heaven, Sister. Goodbye," you said.

There was not a whole year between you And me, little dream-brother. I cannot remember even to have seen you ... And now I might be your mother.

FAUST AND MARGARET

"Devil," he said, "Love's Heaven— Shall man not therefor lose his soul?"

* * * * *

"God," she whispered, "is Love Heaven? Is Heaven a place of dole?"

(_And so she gave his Heaven to the man Because the man did crave it. And so because she never asked Hell's ban He gave it._)

"Devil!" he said, "Love's Hell! Man's wild-beast-thirst, how slake it? Take the tenderest thing, thus—thus! Passion-torture it a spell, And break it!"

* * * * *

"God," she whispered, "Love is Heaven. Love's not what Love is made for us, But what we make it."

(_And so her dead soul found what it had given, And what he builded, there his damned soul ended.... And do you think that either Hell or Heaven These sinners' suffering-on-earth amended?_)

DREAM-SHIPS

I set my dream-ships floating Upon the tides of sleep. Beneath whose moving waters Unfathomed currents creep;

And one was made of roses With flowering mast and spars, And one was made of music, And one was made of stars:

One was all joy and sorrow Made from my own heart-strings, And one was like a cradle With sails like angels' wings.

O little ships that wander All lonely on the deep, And only come to haven Upon the tides of sleep.

THE MORAL

The youth cried in anguish: "God, My life is bowed down beneath Its woe! I am no mere clod— There's fire in my blood and breath.

"You, Who made me of flesh, not stone, Of quivering tissues—dare You leave me to face alone A grief past my strength to bear?

"Life might be veriest heaven, Life can be veriest hell— In _Your_ hands rests what is given. God, I hold You responsible!"

Then the man who was growing grey Observed: "In an idle mood God blew bubbles one day And loosed the glistening brood

On the welkin, one by one— Myriads of worlds they sped: There were planets and moon and sun, And one was the globe we tread."

Then the Spirit that Nullifies, Men term Death, asked: "How long?" (One fears God shrugged.) "While I blink my eyes— Shall we say a billion years?"

* * * * *

The youth on the fable broke, And scorn in his accents ran: "What is all this to me? I spoke To God of _Myself_, old man."

COLOUR-TONES

I

A visionary filmy sheen Scarce palpable of silver-green Limns barren furrow and bare branch. One month more, and the welcoming Gates o' the world will open wide To let the full deep vernal tide Sweep overland, an avalanche Of green, absorbing in its rush This silver-misty verdure ... Hush! This is the old earth's dream of Spring.

II

In Cobham woods the bluebells run Celestial rillets, streams and rivers, Or else a purple lake they lie, Or little azure pool; The blue flood shimmers in the sun Or under the wind's breathing shivers, While drops cerulean-tincted spill Among the grass. Then very still The dim sweet waters grow and cool Like shadows of the sky.

III

The yellow light of daffodils The lawns beneath the fruit-trees fills, The yellow light of early spring Swims in the shining upper air, And all about the fragrant fair Blossoming boughs of sunlit white Like clouds of heavenly incense swing 'Twixt yellow light and yellow light.

FROM AN OLD GARDEN

OUTSIDE

Trees have grown to the edge of the gate Where grey-bearded lichens cling; The greenwoods stand in a ring, Holding the garden-pearl in their centre A jewel inviolate. Heart of mine, shall we enter?

There is a charm of sleep in the air, Weft of Time's humming loom. There in the green half-gloom I think some intangible spirit hovers ... They say the dim wraiths dwell there Of countless, long-dead lovers.

Warp of sleep and woof of love: The flush of a live rose glows By the pallid death of the rose, A song next the hush that stilled its numbers: Such is the web Time wove. Dare we disturb their slumbers?

We stand on the outskirts, you and I— Shall we not venture in? They will condone the sin, Those dim, dead lovers, will smile and pardon, For our honeymoon hangs in the sky. Heart of mine, into the garden!

INSIDE

You and I here! Shut the gate behind us. Nothing to fear And none to find us. We are all the world, dear!

'Tis a cloister of dreams, This dear old garden; The sundial seems To stand as their warden. How Love's star gleams!

We'll sup on the rose, Our tent is this willow— Lie close, Love, close! There's grass for our pillow. How Love's star glows!

You and I here And the world behind us! Nothing to fear And none to find us— Shut the gate, dear.

FLOW'R AND SONG

Song and flow'r and flow'r and song, So soothed the summer drifts along: Within our hearts a flow'r Unfolding hour by hour, While a song half-conscious slips Over my dear one's lips. Flow'r and song and song and flow'r, So filled runs by each swift, sweet hour: Close to my breast you twine Your flow'r-lips laid on mine, And I catch before we part The song-beats of your heart. Flow'r and song in our garden-close Like wedded lovers have grown one word. I could weave you a wreath from the notes of that bird, And pluck you a song from the heart of this rose.

DWELLERS IN THE GARDEN

Who dwelt here of old? Hush! If I lift from the misty years The veil of dead smiles and forgotten tears, I think I can picture a little maid Crowned with plaits of gold, Passing alone down each green arcade While the sundial told In silence its hours of shine and shade. Young she was as the peep of dawn, And as a year-old dappled fawn Was shy and tender and innocent. And all her days were in waiting spent Amongst her flowers in a day-dream she Builded herself. So continuously In waiting and waiting the days went by— We know what she waited, love, you and I. The flowers had nothing to teach to her— In her sleep she could hear the grasses stir, She had secrets with every rose in the place, The lilies kept smiles for her lily-face, She could think their thoughts and utter their speech, Had a sister's tender look for each, And knew why the trailing clematis Dropped on the sundial a purple kiss— As surely as we know why, she knew. And so in her house of dreams she grew, And so the star-lighted nights slipped by. We know what she waited for—you and I— Who dwelt here of old. There's her tale half-told.

What more to unfold? When he came at last did they ride away, Or, day succeeding each happy day, Did they stay with two heartfuls of love to brim The garden wherein she had waited him? Well, this I know. If they stayed or went, After their term of life was spent They returned to roam by her lily-pond, On to the rosery set beyond, Haunt her favourite paths and nooks, Re-read the fairy-tales which her books, The flowers, had yielded her in such store When he was the hero of all their lore. Hand in hand they go as of old, He brave and bold, She crowned with gold.

Ah, love, they are neither the first nor last! For all of those, having loved and passed, In spirit come back when their dust is cold, Who dwelt here of old.

A ROSE-SONG

Oh, what a realm, what a riot of roses! Here we stand Right in the heart of a great rose-land! Over our head the blossom-world closes, Under our feet— Walls, ceil and carpet are flowery-sweet.

Snowy and crimson and pink and golden Twine and trail, Vivid as life is, as death is, pale. Here they bloom as they bloomed in olden Days when we Were unborn shades, and the shades that be

Had right in these grounds to resent intrusion. Now you and I Jealously cherish our privacy. How came these roses by their profusion, Tier on tier Of bloom on bloom running uncurb'd here?

I think I can guess what they would answer, Whence they came, Pallid petal and flower of flame, Inscribed with such lore as the old romancer Of Italy Left the world to make love-songs by.

We are born, these pink roses say, of kisses, Dye of the blush. What though time's passage their soft lisp hush? The seeds were scattered of lovers' blisses, And year by year We renew their tender caresses here.

We are born of joy, say these petals yellow, Tinge of delight. What though love's sunshine be lapped in night? We, sprung from its seeds, rich-toned and mellow, Perpetuate The days when the orbit of love waxed great.

We are born, these red ones say, of passion, Flush of the heart. What though the sound of love's steps depart? The seeds were sown, and we in this fashion Immortalize Remembrance thereof in the heart's own dyes.

We are born, say these snow-white blooms, of the spirit, Children of death. What is the ceasing of mere life-breath? Love is sustained by its own pure merit, Its memory Renewed and renewed to infinity.

Belov'd, we are adding to these rose-bowers. When we have passed Here our hearts' treasure will lie amassed. Pink, gold, crimson and snowy flowers, Thus and thus, To the limit of time will bloom for us.

BY THE FOUNTAIN

Come down, dear, to the fountain's pool with me, And help me guess how long since last it tinkled And trickled out thin streams of minstrelsy—

How long since last the grass with pearls it sprinkled. It was yet young the day it fell asleep, For time has left its glassy face unwrinkled.

Ah, could we where the shadows lie most deep Peering discern the dear forgotten faces Of girls who o'er the brink were wont to peep,

With shy eyes seeking in the depths the graces Made dear and lovely to them by love's praise. Can all have passed away and left no traces?

They dreamed, as we too dream, through summer days, And hid their white thoughts in such water-lilies As float here now. Flowers do not change their ways.

Ah, love, to-day the lucent water still is As tho' no rosy finger-tips had dipped And dabbled it, and hushed the fountain's rill is.

Their feet across the velvet greensward tripped, Their bosoms pressed the crumbling grey-stone basin, They fed the ruddy goldfish laughing-lipped ...

Is not one left? Look, look! I seem to trace in The murky deeps some shape of hoary carp— Too late! for now I only see your face in

The water, smiling questions. He was sharp, That king-fish, but I caught his gold crown's glimmer ... Oh, fountain, tune again for us your harp,

Fling through the air for us your diamond shimmer Of spray. Two new young lovers seek your shrine. Those loves of old with years grow fainter, dimmer,

But ours is warm and living and divine, And time has not yet breathed upon its lustre, And I am hers and she is all of mine!

And here we kneel where once old loves would muster, Shut in the lilies one new secret up, And add her image to the beauty-cluster Of those whose eyes lie mirrored in your cup.

TIME AND LOVE

Old sundial, you stand here for Time: For Love, the vine that round your base Its tendrils twines, and dares to climb And lay one flower-capped spray in grace Without the asking on your cold Unsmiling and unfrowning face. Yet, sundial, even Time may mould. In years to come the foot shall stumble Upon your shattered ruins where This vine will flourish still, as rare, As fresh, as fragrant as of old. Love will not crumble.

Kisses have worn your stones away, Lov'd lips you did not pulse beneath; Dropt tears have hastened your decay And brought you one step nigher death; And you have heard, unthrilled, unmoved, The music of Love's golden breath And seen the light in eyes that loved. You think you hold the core and kernel Of all the world beneath your crust, Old dial? But when you lie in dust, This vine will bloom, strong, green, and proved. Love is eternal.

RIFLED FLOWERS

Why is the lily's cheek waxen with grief? A brown-and-gold thief Dived down to her core And burgled her store. Bowed with her sweetness she saw him depart, But her soul was too pure to complain. Dear, drop a kiss in her heart And make the sweet lily all honey again.

Why does the fox-glove droop low, bell and leaf? A silver-winged thief Who delved in her pollen With gold powder swollen Fled in new blossoms her wealth to disburse And left her not one yellow grain. Sweet, blow a kiss in her purse And fill the dear fox-glove with treasure again.

FAIRY-TIME

Lie very still, love, where I fold You close: the clocks strike fairy-time. The thin, sweet tinkle of their chime Is like a thread of gold Woven through the heart of night For our delight. And following the elfin call Faint noises, half-tones, rise and fall— The whirr and flit of fairy wings Pass and re-pass, And we can hear among the grass Musicians tune their buzzing strings, And small feet tapping on the ground The measures of a fairy round. Out of the roses stream wee elves, Sweet peas are fairies in themselves, And myriad water-sprites From dreaming water-lilies rise, Such glistening, ephemeral mites, Flashing like spray across our eyes. Watch how all whirl, dissolve, and mix Again, foot it so daintily, Play such quaint, pretty tricks— Some on wild moths go riding by, Breaking them in with rein and bit Of gossamer: some lurk and flit, Making pretence at hide and-seek Behind the daisies, laugh and peek Like children: disregarding rules, Play leap-frog with the spotted stools Of fungus, each night newly-sprung For them to sport among ... Suddenly all grow hushed with awe— Come closer, dear! The voice of one who broke the law Of Fairyland sounds harsh and near, And overhead a dark shape flies. Bound in a hollow oak by day He, like the wizard Merlin, lies, But is condemned to pass the night In restless flight Until the dawn looms grey.... There! he has passed. And in a trice They all forget him, joining hands Once more in glittering, laughing bands, Employing every strange device And twist and twirl And mazy whirl To build their graceful, freakish dance— Like moonbeam motes they glide and glance Under the starshine. Seize this chance Of watching them. To-morrow we No trace shall see Of all their revels save—who knows?— A broken toadstool, or the spun Fine silken spider's web undone, The shattered petals of a rose Tom in the careless frolic, or The bloom brushed from some untamed wing Of moth, and on their dancing-floor Staining the grass a bright green ring. Lie close, and let us look our fill To-night. Be very still.

THE WANING YEAR

Two little things, dear, I have seen To-day that overflowed my breast with sorrow— We may not stay here many another morrow.

Amongst the leafage, by its green Still-living sisters tenderly enfolden, I saw one single leaf grown dry and golden.

And down the alleys of the rose Passing, I saw one lightly breathed-on blossom Fall instantly deflowered to earth's brown bosom.

Compassionate summer ere she goes Strikes tender notes surcharged with wistful warnings ... Dear heart, we must begone ere many mornings.

SHADOWS

We thought we were here alone, Had spent our summer of love By all other hearts unknown, Of all other eyes unseen— But something came to disprove Last night what we thought had been.

The shadows fell one by one— We have watched them fall before And fancied ourselves alone; But they seemed to waver and move Last night, and to wander o'er Our green-tented couch of love.

You were asleep, and I Would not disturb your dreams Lest the shadowy shapes should fly. I saw them gather and mount In ever-increasing streams— More lovers than I could count.

They circled around our bed And watched us a little while From the sides and foot and head; And some of that shadow-band Were wistful, and some would smile, But all seemed to understand.

Then I felt light fingers twine In my hair, and soft breath enwreathe My brow ... lips were laid to mine ... But none of the hands was this, Nor the breath the breath you breathe, The kisses were not your kiss.

Then ... you turned on your side to press More close with the smile that slips From its hiding at my caress, And you breathed my name in my ear As though I had kissed your lips ... But I had not kissed you, dear.

THE LAST NIGHT

Well, is it done? is it over? Three months in these groves I have been your lover, Added my voice to the echoing chorus Of those who loved here before us.

We have pressed the paths made sweet By the pressure of bygone lovers' feet, Have lain amid flowerless violet-beds Where they laid their happy heads;

We have flung a red-rose petal On the glass of the pond and watched it settle, Then drift like a boat down one of her streams With our cargo of hopes and dreams.

So many have come and gone, Have done the things which we two have done: Have leaned in revery sweet and solemn, Hands laced, on the sundial's column:

Have found their three months as brief As the life of a blade of grass, a leaf— As eternal, too, as the leafage is Have found their three months of bliss.

For us it is finished and over. Our three months are spent when as lover and lover We may roam these groves. But to-night we are nearest, This being our last night, dearest,

The spirits of those who wander Near our lily-pond, by our sundial yonder, In our rose-realm ... Farewells are not easily spoken, So their silence remains unbroken.

But I see through a mist of tears This garden after a million years, Where two shades more move eternally ... Heart of mine, they are you and I.

A SHEAF OF NATURE-SONGS

(Overstrand, 1905.)

I

They were gathered up in the moods Which I found in the solitudes Of the shore and the fields and the woods, Of the dawn and the noon and the even, Of the earth and the sea and of heaven. And some lack rhythm and metre, And none of the songs is sweeter, Or as sweet (by the infinite span Which divides the work of man From the work of his God), as the thing Which was the fountain and spring Whence my heart drew its need to sing. But because wherever I went Much song in my heart was pent: Because the sea and the sky Filled my breast with such melody: Because the woodlands and all God's earth became musical As they entered into my soul: Because I captured the whole Of Nature for my possession: I sang just to find expression For the joy and the love and the pride of it— Else all song in me might have died of it.

II

The infinite sky overhead And on the horizon The infinite sea. Green billowing grass for my bed— At last I am out of my prison And free!

An insect creeps over my page, An infinite mite With all life folded under its wings. I am of no sex, of no age, Here out of sight Of the world, all alone with God's infinite things.

Oh, the world of small leafage Peopling the bank where I lean, And the one white daisy With its wisdom of things supernal. They live out their brief age, Brief but eternal, And time itself recedes and grows hazy In this little infinite world of green.

Behind me the copse Like a round cup dips Filled with a pool of soft shadows, And to me in the meadows One shy bird-voice from the tree-top drips And into the hollow of shadows it melts and drops.

They are all around me And all above me, Half-seen, half-heard, Flower and leaf and insect and bird, Wild, timid creatures, Simple and friendly and shy; And so still I lie Where they have found me That I think in time they may learn to love me, For they are Nature's And so am I.

One by one she unfolds each feature, The Infinite Mother To her child. There was a new bird-call, And there was another! I too shall learn to grow simple and shy and wild ... Only Nature and Nature and nothing but Nature, And I alone in the heart of it all.

III

They who dwell in the southlands say, Little green England of mine, that you Are misty and colourless, cold and grey. If it be true And they can know it who dwell afar, You only are grey as diamonds are.

To-day in the warm soft evening light You are a zone of delicate tints; On the rim of the sea the sun is bright, And shoots and glints Sparkles of gold through its splendid blue. Who say you are colourless know not you.

Opal gleams on the sunset sky Where a wave of the liquid sapphire flows; One bright cloud on its flood drifts by Of pearl and rose; The air is radiant and crystalline As rare jewels delved from a fairy mine.