Produced by Thierry Alberto and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net A LEGEND OF OLD PERSIA AND OTHER POEMS. BY A. B. S. TENNYSON. LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN. 1912. TO C. T. Fantasies. Altruism: A Legend of Old Persia: p. 3. The Enchanted Gipsy: p. 9. The Roof of the World: p. 11. The Poet and the Lily: p. 13. The Tramp: p. 15. The Black Dwarf: p. 23. To an Elephant: p. 24. Songs. The Palmer's Song: p. 27. The Song of the Old Men: p. 28. The Song of Snorro: p. 30. The Island: p. 32. Fair Filamelle: p. 34. The Song of Kisses: p. 35. The Song of Odysseus: p. 36. Stories in Verse. Adeimantus: p. 41. Pygmalion: p. 44. Alexis: p. 53. The King's Cloak: p. 56. The Knight and the Witch: p. 59. The Dreamer: p. 66. Dialogues. The Parting of Lancelot and Guinevere: p. 77. The Hermit and the Faun: p. 80. Love's Defiance: p. 85. The Playmates: p. 87. Dramas. June and November: p. 91. A Foolish Tragedy: p. 92. Alone: p. 94. The Wraith: p. 101. The Two Murderers: p. 102. Reflections. The Wind and the Hills: p. 107. The Happy Ones: p. 110. A Question: p. 112. The Earth: p. 113. Aspirations: p. 114. Romance: p. 115. _Of the poems in this volume "Adeimantus" and "The Hermit and the Faun" first appeared in_ THE CONTEMPORARY REVIEW, _and "The Song of Snorro" in_ THE SPECTATOR. _They are republished here by kind permission of the Editors._ FANTASIES. Altruism: A Legend of Old Persia. In the flowery land of Persia Long ago, as poets tell, Where three rivers met together Did a happy people dwell. Never did these happy people Suffer sickness, plague, or dearth, Living in a golden climate In the fairest place on earth, Living thus thro' endless summers And half-summers hardly colder, Growing, tho' they hardly guessed it, Very gradually older. I can very well imagine These old Persian lords and ladies Sitting in their pleasant gardens, Dreaming, dozing, where the shade is; Almond trees a mass of blossom, Roses, roses, red as wine, With the helmets of the tulips Flaming in a martial line, While beside a marble basin, With a fountain gushing forth, Stands a red-legged crane, alighted From the deserts of the North. So they lived these ancient people, With the happy harmless faces, Dreaming till the purple twilight In their flowery garden-places, Finding every year the sunshine And the wind a little colder, Growing, tho' they hardly guessed it, Very gradually older, Till at last they grew so frail That to their gardens they were carried, Very feeble and exhausted, Weak as babes--But still they tarried, Lying till the purple twilight Wrapped in wool but hardly warm, Wearing shawls of costliest texture Lest the wind might do them harm, Feeling very faint sensations Of delight in each old breast, Twittering with tiny voices Like young swallows in a nest. Then the young men spoke together As they feasted in the taverns, "It is time to take our Fathers, We must bear them to the Caverns." In a mountain were the Caverns, Fourteen leagues across the sand, Fourteen leagues across the desert In a naked golden land. Black and bold and bare the mountain Modelled into many shapes, Cones and pyramids and pillars, Beetling cliffs and jutting capes. And within it were the Caverns Tunnelled into every part, Some by ancient Persian devils, Others by a modern art. Where the terraced lawns lay dreaming, Underneath a cedar-tree Dozed an ancient, ancient person Tiny as a child of three. Every day a gobbling negro To his place the old man carried; Very feeble and exhausted Did he seem--but still he tarried. Then Hasan, the young lord, murmured, As he feasted in the taverns, "It is time to take my Father, I must bear him to the Caverns." So he took his long-maned pony, Her who wore the silver shoes, Galloped thro' the crowded highways Like one with no time to lose. Purpose in his warning outcry (Was he not the next of kin?) Till he reached his palace gateway, Flung the rein and fled within, Chose with care a wicker basket Very strong and deep and wide, Laying shawls of costliest texture And an eider quilt inside. Underneath the spreading cedar, In an arbour newly built, Found Hasan his ancient person, Put him underneath the quilt, Mounted then his long-maned pony With the basket on his arm, Carrying it very firmly Lest his father might take harm. Galloped thro' the crowded highway, Passing by the Street of Taverns, Fourteen leagues across the desert Till he came unto the Caverns. Fastened then his long-maned pony To a ring-post at the mouth (Scores and scores of ring-posts were there Where the Caverns faced the South) Plunged within the long wide gallery Tunnelled 'neath the rocky roof, With a lantern light exploring All the dark which lay aloof, Treading swiftly, treading surely, With the basket on his arm, Carrying it very firmly Lest his father might take harm. Till he came a byway unto Fashioned from another way, And a niche seen at the summit Of a guiding lantern ray. Lifted then the basket gently, Poised, and placed it in the niche, Saying "Farewell, ancient father, 'Tis the custom" ... after which Bowed his head before his father Thrice, and swiftly turned to go, Knowing that it was the custom, Thinking it was better so. Suddenly he heard a droning, Like a gnat's small plaintive lay, Somewhere in the dark behind him Where the "Ancient Persons" lay, Heard a little ghostly twitter Like a voice addressing him, Turned and saw his father staring Just above the basket rim, Staring at Hasan, his strong son, With his filmy red-rimmed eyes, "What's ado, Oh! ancient father?" Cried Hasan in great surprise. "Son," replied the ancient person, "Tho' a miser is disgraced, Even in a wealthy household Monstrous is the crime of waste, Strong and shapely is the basket Much hath held and more will take; If you leave it in the Caverns Won't it be a great mistake? So, for once, let custom perish.... Son, 'tis I, your father, ask it, Lift me out and lay me gently On the rock and ... take our basket." Oh! the young lord's wild amazement As he heard that tiny hum; Turned the lantern light behind him Stricken with amazement dumb. Oh! the young lord's vast confusion As its meaning gave a flicker-- Oh! the mild iconoclastic Staring o'er the edge of wicker. Staring--staring--simply staring With his filmy red-rimmed eyes-- Down Hasan his father lifted Silent still in strange surmise. Never faster had prince ridden From the place of Persian devils, Where its huge and inky bastions Frowned across the golden levels; Nor before had faster travelled Scion of the equine brood Than that day, that day of portent, Galloped she the silver-shoed. Saw Hasan the meaning clearly And a prophet (so they said) After sunset thro' the taverns Loud proclaimed the custom dead. This a legend of old Persia Of an earlier happier day Of a happy happy people-- How they ended none can say. The Enchanted Gipsy. "Gilda, Gilda, my ragged child, Where have you been, In the lane, the green lane, or the heather, My little queen?" "Honey mother, sweet little mother, Oh! my old grey mummy, It's the blood of berries on my skirt Makes me look rummy." "There is no juice on your coral lips, Your amber eyes are wild, And why do you dance like an angry jay, My fairy child?" "I can tell, I can tell, Oh! my delicate mam, I dance to the tune of a blue-bell, Which told me what I am." "Gilda, Gilda, my lovely child, Say how it spoke, There is nothing well in a flower's spell On one of our folk." "Oh! my pet, my beautiful heart, Oh! my cunning mummy, My cousin the sun and the wind have begun, That's why I look rummy." "I have known one since I have begun, I have known a dozen, But never I knew a girl was true Who called _them_ cousin." "Oh! my mam, my delicate mam, Do not scold your daughter, I only went to the Witch's pool And looked in the water." "Oh! my dove, my beautiful elf, Was the water clear as heaven, Did you weave a crown of flowers for yourself, In the magic of even?" "Oh! my mother, my honey mother, The water was heaven-clear, I wove a crown of marigolds.... But why do you look so queer?" "Oh! my girl, my pitiful girl, Good-bye to your happy hours, The Curse of the Pool is on you.... Your ways are not ours." The Roof of the World. "Ere the first blush of morning's rose Had reddened the eternal snows, I plunged the pines among, And came down thro' the forest sons In their deep-ranked battalions With practised steps and strong. "Then heard I from the plateau rock A lowing cow and a crowing cock-- Thin sounds in upper air. And far below at the valley's end I saw the morning smoke ascend That showed me men were there. "Ho! you lads, arouse, arouse! He is descended to your house Of whom wild legend ran. On the roof of the world I dwelt five year, Go, tell your master I am here To be his serving-man. "Ho! all you folk, I climbed above The boundaries of hate and love. Ho! such an one was I-- The wind it whistled to my bone. I was alone, alone, alone With the mountains and the sky. "It is a timeless land and still; The heavens slowly like a wheel Revolve themselves around; There are two rulers in that place; Eternity sits throned by space; Their law is without sound. "Ho! you folk, such feats I did On the world's roof the snow amid, Ho! such an one as I-- I matched the wild goat in my race, And underneath the long wise face I pulled the beard awry. "Five years I sported undismayed, But suddenly I was afraid, Yea, fearfully amazed. I saw the eye of a dying hare; Infinity was mirrored there Ere it was wholly glazed. "And this shall be my daily good, To draw your water, hew your wood, And lighten all your need; To do your sowing and your tilling; But to be bright and always willing, And have no other creed." All bronzed and bearded was his face; He had a rapture and a grace From living in the wild; As he stared around and strangely spoke He lookèd not like other folk, But as an eager child. The Poet and the Lily. A poet was born in a modern time, 'Neath Saturn and his Rings, He was a child of the world's prime, Knew all beautiful things. He was a child of morning and mirth, Laughing for joy of the sun, His nostrils drank the scent of earth When rain is over and done. A lily came from the winter's womb And grew in its own sweet pride, But the ruthless steel passed over its bloom, And low in the dust it died. And the poet's heart was filled with pain That a delicate thing and rare Should be reft of the beauty of which it was fain And killed by the cruel share. So he sang of the meadows white with lambs, And life all young again, Of the colts which gallop to their dams, Knowing not any rein. He sang of the spring upon the sea, Hedges all white with may, The year in its sweet infancy, This our great world at play. Of shepherds piping to their flocks Across the fields of thyme, Of sunlit fields above the rocks, Where the small waves lap in rhyme. Of glancing maids and youths their peers, For ever young and free, With faces fair, and in their ears Great music of the sea. He sang the amber moon a-sail In an even of misty blue, The stars which burn, the stars which pale, The might which holds them true; The comets in another sky Which sweep to an unknown morn. He sang of some vast agony Or ever a world was born. He sang a song like a twanging bow, His head was full of sound As a dark night when winds are low And a swell comes from the ground. He sang a song like a joyous bird In wooded places and hilly, While in the hearts of those that heard Pity grew like a lily. The Tramp. Forth from the ill-lit tavern door Where he had snoozed and boozed before Stumbled his shambling feet. A candle gave a guttering light, And some one growled a hoarse good-night.... The Tramp was in the street. His boots were blistered, burst and patched, He had a mildewed hat, which matched His green, unlovely coat. Once, too, he caught his foot and swore, And, tho' the night was warm, he wore A muffler at his throat. And as he went his two lips moved As if he muttered songs he loved To an old, unquiet tune; And as he went his eyes were glazed, Twice, too, he paused like some one dazed And hiccoughed at the moon. Thus thro' the empty ways he passed Until he reached the road at last With fields at either hand, And in the heavens bare and bright The moon stood high and shed her light Upon the silent land. And lo! hard by, a lofty rick, No chance was there of stab or prick, It makes a pleasant bed. And so, within, he burrowed deep, And then upon a fragrant heap He laid his unclean head. The moon was swallowed by a cloud, A nightingale sang sweet and loud From the middle of a wood; From its small body swelled a strain Which flooded all the listening plain. It trembled as it stood. Upon his hay the Tramp awoke, The golden fountain never broke, The lovely sobbing strain. The melody of that brown bird Awoke a delicate, prisoned chord Within his sodden brain. The brain of him who lived remote And dreamed strange things he never wrote But hoarded in his mind. He would not kill the dreams he loved For sake of little things that moved The passions of mankind. Let the red torches toss and flare, And all the long-stemmed trumpets blare, Let brass beat loud on brass. Let the Kings ride in victory, Low comes the thought amidst the cry, "These visions shall but pass." For, like reflections in a mirror, Or empty bubbles on a river, The striving world passed by. What seemed to others worth the winning Thro' strong desire or hate of sinning Brought him no energy. The thunder muttering on the hills, The song of birds, the babbling rills, The painted flowers and stars, This pageantry of earth did seem The parcel of a timeless dream. He lived beyond the bars. It was to him a vague mirage Or memory of a storied page With only that appeal; But oftentimes a sound or sight Would bring to him his own delight More subtle than the real. And with his sense of entity Half lost, he raised a vacant eye Into the empyrean. And as he lay upon his back The pealing centuries rolled back.... He saw the blue Ægean. And thus he dreamt: "My palace home With minaret and marble dome Upon the sapphire strait. My garden full of nightingales, One singing as the other fails While evening groweth late. "And from my watch-tower I behold Beneath a sky of molten gold My argosies return. A homeward wind is in their sails, Freighted are they with costly bales, Vast fires behind them burn. "I have a room with shining floors And lofty roof and polished doors, Wherein I love to dine With two good friends at left and right, Whose converse is my soul's delight And glads my heart like wine. "Or in my marble portico We sit and watch the summer glow And talk of love and death; And when the amber twilight fails We listen to the nightingales, And evening holds her breath. "Oh! Charicles and Charmides, Much have I dreamt of hours like these, My friends I never knew-- Whose voices and whose grave, sweet words Were lovelier than the songs of birds, And fresher than the dew. "For Charicles has love and youth, And all his words are sweet with truth, Like a garden with the rain; And Charmides is mild and wise, But with his tear-washed, violet eyes Yet can he smile again. "Perhaps I knew you, ancient lords Of nobler wit and finer chords-- But this I cannot tell; For ever lovely things I sought In some strange borderland of thought, Content therein to dwell. "For who could blame or who could praise If one should choose to pass his days In a phantasy of dreams, And, finding thus his own ideal In things dissevered from the real, Be happier than he seems? "Ah! who could praise or who could blame, Tho' glimmers all my way the same, Like a dyke-road thro' a fen. Far on, far on--a ruddy spark-- The toll-light glows adown the dark, And I, like other men, "Must pay my toll and pass beyond,-- I made no vow, I signed no bond, Nor lose my self-esteem, But pass, unknown, unloved, unlost, The man who knew and weighed the cost, The man who dared to dream. "For what is Fame and what's a Name, Your cries of sorrow, wrath, and shame, Your Hamlets and King Lears, The night must cover them again Did they last a thousand lives of men, A thousand thousand years. "The world may say that I have missed; Ah! no--I am an egoist Of subtle, fixed design. My dreams a garden are to me To which no other holds the key, I wish to keep them mine. "All mine--those tender, half-thought things, Which flutter gossamer rainbow wings And hover near, near, near. Why should I catch and pin them down And lose their beauty for a crown Would chafe my brows to wear. "And thus, a baser alchemist In some perverted plan persist To turn my gold to dross. If I turned my gold their soul were sold Tho' I wore a crown and cloth of gold, Their soul were then the loss. "If I sat high, a crownèd king, With lofty brows in a royal ring, A lustrous diadem, If I wore the titles 'High, Strong, and Wise,' And garments stained with purple dyes, All jewelled at the hem "With emeralds, rubies and jacinth stones, Such as great kings wear on their golden thrones, And a royal mantle of vair, And held a sceptre in my hand, Which showed me ruler of all the land, In my palace, where none might dare "To cross my word, but all must bow As the courtly throng are bending now, And give the King his meed, And slaves waved forests of peacock fans And a cry went up like a single man's, 'This is the King indeed.' "For I could be King and Overlord In the wondrous realm of the written word, Am King there ... in my dreams. So, loving dreams, this life I choose-- The tramp's with tattered coat and shoes, Yet happier than it seems. "Thus, oh! my dreams, you grow not old, No process dims you, leaves you cold, Immortal, bright, you come, And if you come not, I am wise, I have my trusted old allies, Tobacco, beer, and rum." His chin sank down upon his breast, And suddenly the brown bird ceased To pour her strain abroad. A sound less sweet to mortal ear Uprose (had one been there to hear).... It was the tramp who snored. The Black Dwarf. Certain it is that of those qualities We are enamoured which we most do lack. So he, fantastic out of human guise, Bent, broken, bowed, small, apish, humped of back, Marred in the mint, perfection's contrary, To sweet perfection found his marred life thrall, And--the great artist without jealousy-- Knew beauty more than all. Much he loved flowers and their frail loveliness, But if they pined thro' blight or thirsty want, Or spiteful wind had made his blossoms less, Or mouse or mole had gnawed some tender plant, Then seemed the edge of life all dull and blunt, And passion thwarted tore his twisted frame, And, 'neath the penthouse of the shaggy front, The yellow eyes flashed flame. But most he joyed whenever country maid, Prizing his taste, or damsel highly born To judgment came, and anxiously displayed For him submission as for others scorn. Then, peering keenly from his peat-roofed home, Calm in his power he scanned her as he chose, And, if she pleased, the swart and twisted gnome Gave her a white, white rose. To an Elephant. Lord of the trunk and fan-like ears, Wisest and mightiest next to man, I see thee hence a million years Ruling the earth with milder plan. Dwellers above, beneath the ground, Shall live contented in that time; No subtle growths shall e'er confound Their natural joy and instinct prime. Not such as those who planned to nought And groped (wise fools!) beyond their ken Scarce knowing what they loved or sought-- Those subtle growths, those weary men-- Shall dwell earth's inexperienced brood In natural joy and instinct prime; But without evil, without good, Be each new moment, not all time. Jungles shall grow where cities stood, The mighty rivers roar unbridged The hungry tiger seek his food, Save for thy bidding, privileged, Where (weary subtle growths) we bore Our burden of humanity; For conscious mind shall work no more And man himself have ceased to be. SONGS. The Palmer's Song. I will fling ambition away Like a vain and glittering toy; With tristful weeping will I pray And wash my sin's alloy. I will wear the palmer's weed And walk in the sandal shoon. I will walk in the sun by day And sleep beneath the moon. I will set forth as the bells toll And travel to the East, Because of a sin upon my soul And the chiding of a priest. The Song of the Old Men. We are the old, old men, Once fierce and high-hearted in frolics, But now we are three score and ten Or upwards--mere relics Of the fine strong pageant of youth, Which time in his spite and unruth Has taken. We are dim and palsied and shaken, Ah! me--forsaken. Where are the fair white maids With flower faces and carriage Straight as new-smithied blades, Ripe, ready for marriage? Now all are withered and grey, Their beauty has passed away, Ah! madness-- They are bent like hoops with sadness And the world's badness. Our voices are hoarse and drear, As we sit and mumble together, We have no good tidings to hear We had sooner have never (So we grumble together) been born, That are so sick and forlorn; Just shadows-- But once bright fishers of shallows, Swift hunters of meadows. We are the old, old men, We have seen and endured much trouble; It has turned us children again, And bent us double. Now we sit like a circle of stones, And hear in each others' moans Ill token. For our sweetest thoughts were broken Or else unspoken. The Song of Snorro. "Oh! who can drink at the world's brink, Or reach the twilight star? It's a long sail where the winds wail, And the great waters are. "Or who can say at the parting day That he will see once more His children's faces in happy places, His true wife at the door?" Snorro the Viking, his thigh striking, Laughed in his big red beard. "Some are bound by sight and sound. While some have wished and feared. "Their days dream as a droning stream Or moonlight in a wood. Now who can sate his love or hate, And the tumult of his blood? "Then cast the die for the open sky When the great sun beats abroad, For the foam-fleck and the narrow deck, The life of oar and sword. "Life and limb for the wind's hymn, And all the fears that be, The ghost-races with ghastly faces, The phantoms of the sea. "Mine is the morrow," shouted Snorro, "I longed and have not feared." And his great laughter followed after And rumbled in his beard. The Island. Once (was it long ago, dear? Oh! hark to the sighing seas.) We sailed to a wonderful Island In the golden Antipodes, Where the waves wore an azure mantle, The winds were ever at rest, For we'd left the Old World behind us A thousand leagues to the West. We came to that wonderful Island; Girt by a ring of foam It lay in the sea like a jewel Under an azure dome. The cliffs were all gold in the sunlight, The strand was a floor of gold, So we knew we'd come to the Island We'd read of in tales of old. Was it long we stayed in our Island? (Dear, I can never say) I know we walked on the mountains Which looked far over the bay. I know that we laughed for pleasure (Were we wise or a couple of fools?) As we gazed at the painted fishes Which swam in the shallow pools. And night drew over our Island The purple pall of the skies, The air was heavy with fragrance And soft with the breath of sighs, And voices out of the forest, Voices out of the sea, Told the eternal secret.... Told it to you and me. And the stars came down from the heavens, And the magical tropic moon, To dance a measure together Over the still lagoon; And the whisper of distant forests, The noise of the surf in our ears, Seemed like the song of the ages Sung by the passing years. But we said "farewell" to our Island Which we had discovered alone.... The sand ... and the palms ... and the headland.... The westering wind ... and the sun. We said "farewell" to our Island (Oh! hark to the sullen rain!) ... And I knew as it fell behind us We should not see it again. For only a few may go there And they but once may go, With glamour of stars above them And the swinging seas below. But I still hear its forests whisper, The noise of the surf on the shore, In that far-off wonderful Island Which I shall see no more. Fair Filamelle. Fair Filamelle is my distress With all her cruel backwardness. She will not listen to my pain, But turneth from me in disdain. That fair Filamelle, Her disdain is now my hell. She hath bewitched me with her eyes, As Circe did the sailor wise, Or Egypt did the Roman Prince, Two thousand years agone. I've little else but weeping since, My heart is like a stone. If you like laughter's silver sound Why have you dealt me such a wound, If youth and beauty look askance At glum and heavy countenance, Why is it coy and cruel, Adding to my fire more fuel? Alas! Alas! it has no care, Free as the birds which flit in air, Nor heedfulness has any, Else were its kindness not so rare, Its victims then so many. Ah! fair Filamelle, have pity on my moan, Else must I die alone, My heart is like a stone. The Song of Kisses. I have no skill in Love's soft war, Nor am I bold to woo In the same sort that conquerors are When they are lovers too. Tho' passion thunders in my brain Like ocean on a beach, My tongue is bounden with a chain And manacled my speech. Yet, could I let one word go free To touch your chords with fire, Become the wind upon the sea The plectrum of the lyre, Then, my Althea, should we be Two lovers without shame, All things in their epitome, The Universe our name. Then should we bow to Love's command As the waves kiss the shore And the rain falls upon the land That it may thirst no more. Then should we kiss, with time at bay As in the Ajalon valley, A score--two score--two hundred--nay We would not keep the tally-- A hundred thousand in one bout, Ten myriads ere we slumbered, And the stars winked and all went out To find themselves out-numbered. The Song of Odysseus. Out of the dark I return-- The abode of the shades; The words which they said Were the strengthless words of the Dead, Meaningless, nothing importing. Out of the dark I return And the House of the Dead; The endless regions of gloom Deep sepulchred in the womb Of Earth, the mother of all things. Out of the dark I return, From the stream of the Dead; I slew a goat on the brink And they pressed around me to drink Their shadowy twittering legions. Out of the dark I return, From the speech of the Dead; I asked them for counsel and word, They twittered like bats when they heard And wailed for the warm blood flowing. Out of the dark I return; (Ye are baffled, Oh! Dead); Lost hopes, lost hearts, lost loves, Hollow-eyed, hollow-cheeked are your droves, I drew my sword and ye vanished. Out of the dark I return And the dust of desire; My ears are still filled with the shrieks Of the pitiful Dead and my cheeks Still pale with the paleness of Hades. Out of the dark I return For the day, for the deed; And now to Apollo, the slayer, I stand and utter a prayer Humbly, first making obeisance. STORIES IN VERSE. Adeimantus. The dream of Adeimantus Who carved for a Grecian Prince Statues of perfect marble, Fairer than all things since, Wonderful, white, and gracious Like lotus flowers on a mere, Or phantoms born of the moonbeam, Beyond all praise but a tear. The dream of Adeimantus (As he lay upon his bed), Wonderful, white, and gracious, And this was the word it said. "Arise! oh! Adeimantus, The breath of the dawn blows chill, The stars begin to fade Ere the first ray strikes the sill. Arise! oh! Adeimantus For here is work to your hand, If the fingers fashion the dream As the soul can understand." He rose from his troubled bed Ere the dream had faded away, And he said, "I will fashion the dream As the potter fashions the clay." He said in his great heart's vanity, "I will fashion a wondrous thing To stand in a palace of onyx And blind the eyes of a king." He said in the pride of his soul As the birds began to sing, "I will surely take no rest Till I fashion this wondrous thing. I will swear an oath to eschew The white wine and the red, To eat no delicate meats Nor break the fair, white bread. I will not walk in the city But labour here alone In the dew and the dusk and the flush Till the vision smiles from the stone." Six days he wrought at the marble, But cunning had left his hand, And his fingers would not fashion What his soul could understand. Six days he fasted and travailed, Hard was the watch to keep, So the chisel fell from his fingers And he sank with a sob to sleep. But a vision came to his slumber Beautiful as before, Floating in with the moonbeam Gliding over the floor. It floated in with the moonbeam And stood beside his bed, Wonderful, white, and gracious, And this was the word it said. "Courage, oh! Adeimantus, I am the perfect thing To stand in a shrine of jasper And blind the eyes of a king. I am the strange desire, The glory beyond the dream, The passion above the song, The spirit-light of the gleam. I come to my best beloved, Not actual, from afar, Fairer than hope or thought, More beautiful than a star. Courage, oh! Adeimantus, Lay strength and strength to your soul. You shall fashion surely a part Tho' you may not grasp the whole." Pygmalion. Once ... I seem to remember.... Crept in the noonday heat A boy with a crooked shadow Which capered along the street. A boy whose shadow was mocked at By the children passing along, Straight and tall and beautiful, Happy with laughter and song. So, he envied their beauty.... He who was crooked and brown.... The strong youths of the mountain, The white girls of the town, Envied their happy meetings And the tender words they spoke In the shadow of the temples, Under the groves of oak. And his lonely heart was stricken That never his lot might be To walk with a maid who loved him.... So quaint and crooked was he. II Thus was my heart once stricken And I repined for a while, I but a boy in years, Who longed for a maiden's smile. Till once on a day in summer My soul was touched with a gleam, And I woke from my morbid fancies Like one from an evil dream, And knew that the gods in their wisdom Had made and set me apart. Lean, misshapen, and ugly.... No toy for a maiden's heart. And I felt with a heart awakened That leapt in a riot of joy, The heart of a wise man and proud Not the heart of a moody boy. Viewing the old things anew With an inner wonder in each: The cloud ships driven thro' heaven, The sea rolling into the beach, The magic heart of the woodland, The loves of nymph and faun, The splendour of starlight nights, The calm inviolate dawn. III Thus was my spirit quickened, And once on a lucky day I drew a bird on plaster, And modelled a horse in clay; Kneeling under a wall Where a shadow fell on the street, Eyes and mind intent In the midst of the noonday heat. Eyes and mind intent.... And a stranger passed my way, ... The shadow grew and lengthened As he stopped to watch my play. He looked at the little horse, He looked at the winging bird; And ere I noticed his presence He touched me and spoke a word: "Hast thou the mind and will As thou hast hand and sight...? Follow me if thou hast And climb ... oh! climb to the height." IV So I followed him to his workshop And stayed there a year and a year Working under a master Who praised me and held me dear, Till at last a day arose When, taking my hand in his own, "You have my knowledge," he said, "And now you must stand alone." And tho' I sorrowed to leave him My heart was ready to sing, So first in praise of the gods I made for an offering (Even as does a shepherd His rustic altar of sods) Bright forms larger than human As mortals dream of the gods. Then, in my strange world-worship, The Tritons, Lords of the Sea, The creatures which haunt the woodland, Happy and shy and free, Nymphs and satyrs and fauns Who worship the great god Pan, And lastly the mighty heroes Who fashion the mind of man. V Thus thought I and thus wrought I, And my power grew greater still. I rose to the heights of passion And sounded the depths of will, Reaching out to the farthest Winnowing down to the last, Gazing into the future And diving into the past. Higher and ever higher Like an eagle soared my art And I praised the most high gods Who made and set me apart. And Prince and poet and painter Travelled to touch my hand, The minds which had toiled and suffered, The minds which could understand, Marvelling in my workshop At the shining forms they saw.... The children of my spirit Born of a higher law. VI But last on a day in summer (An evil day it seems) I thought, "I will fashion a woman As I have seen in dreams. I, who never loved woman That breathed and spoke and moved, Will fashion a noble statue To show what I could have loved; A glorious naked figure Untouched by time or fate, A symbol of all that might be And she shall be my mate. Not mate of my crooked body, Lean, misshapen and brown, (No longer I feared my shadow But walked a prince in the town) But mate for my glorious spirit Winging thro' shimmering heights, On the viewless pinions of fancy Where none can follow its flights." Thus was I moved in spirit And wrought, a happy slave, Striving to make the best Of the gifts the high gods gave, Fashioning out of the marble, --And I knew my work was good-- The arms and the breasts and the thighs And the glory of womanhood. VII Lo! the statue is finished. Look how it stands serene A woman with tender smile And proud eyes of a queen! Lo! the statue is perfect.... Flower and crown of my life.... I who never loved woman Could take this woman for wife.... Her, my Galatea, My wonderful milk-white friend, Work of my hand and brain Linked to this noble end. VIII The statue stands above me, Flower and crown of my art.... But would that the gods had made me As others, not set me apart. For what, in the measure of life, Is work on a lower plane? And this the finest, brightest-- Further I cannot attain. Shall I grind its beauty to fragments Or shatter its symmetry?-- For I have made it in secret And none has seen it but me. My hand would falter and fail-- Oh! ... I could not forget. I still should see it in dreams With a passion of regret. Or ... Shall I wait till morning White-winged over the land, Ere the fishermen tramp the beach And drag their boats to the sand; And find at last ... oh! at last A boon denied to me, Rest in the ever-restless, The huge, unquiet sea, That the brain may be freed from toil Which has toiled to a luckless end When it touched its highest powers And shaped my milk-white friend. IX For a dream is only a dream, (My best and my last stands there) And a stone is only a stone, Be it carven beyond compare, And the veriest hind of the field Who sweats for his hungry brood, Has a deeper knowledge than I Of our mortal evil and good. Oh! gods, if ever I sought you, And found you, terrible lords, Zeus in the rattling thunder, Ares in din of swords; And thou, wise grey-eyed lady, Who lovest the sober mean, Reason and grave discourses, A tempered mind and serene, You have I duly honoured-- Yet one have I kept apart, (Lean, misshapen, and ugly No toy for a maiden's heart). "Oh! foam-begotten and smiling, Oh, perilous child of the sea-- Forgive--ere too late--and befriend me! What am I--what is life without thee?" And his prayer went up like a vapour To the palace above the snows, Where the shining gods held revel, And deathless laughter arose. But Hupnos swiftly descended Like a noiseless bird of the night And brushed his eyes with pinions Downy and thick and light, Circled dimly about him, And brushed his eyes as he prayed Laying a drowsy mandate, And the watcher drooped and obeyed. X In at the workshop windows Peacefully stole the dawn; Tinting the marble figures Of wood-nymph, goddess and faun, Broadening in a streamer Which touched with a rosy glow The still white form of the statue, The sleeper kneeling below. ... She moved as the red light touched her And life stirred under her hair, A little shiver ran over Her glorious limbs all bare. Thro' arms and breasts and thighs The warm blood pulsed and ran: And she stepped down from the pedestal-- A woman unto a man; Saying in tender accents Of low and musical tone: "Oh! sleeper, wake from thy slumber No longer art thou alone...." Alexis. Who slew Alexis? Some one smote Right thro' the white and tender throat (And scarce gave time for fear) The jewelled doll, who sprang from kings, With farded cheek and flashing rings, And left him lying here. He sat upon a throne, pardye, The ancient throne of Muscovy, Smiling a harlot's smile, And gave--the painted popinjay-- The word which no man might gainsay, Tossing his curls the while. And savage warriors, steel on hips, Muttered between their bearded lips, And spat upon the floor, To see a thing so debonnaire Enthroned upon a conqueror's chair, And find their King half-whore. Or in a gallery all aflare, Approached by some dark palace stair, He lay in languid mood, And naked women, mad with wine, Did cruelty and lust combine To stir his tainted blood. So plunged, half woman and half devil, In many a foul and roaring revel, By some fierce craving fanned, Alexis, with the girlish face And swaying movements full of grace, The Ruler of this Land. So, hunted by a mind diseased, By those fierce orgies unappeased, He thirsted after new; And monstrous things he did (they say) Which never saw the light of day, Shared by a chosen few. The rocks were cleft to bring him treasure, The mothers mourned to give him pleasure, The whole land writhed in pain, All night the secret chambers flared, All night the horrid deeds were dared Which made him thirst again. And pampered Turks lived by his side, With gobbling negroes bloodshot-eyed, And hags with mouths impure. And day and night the warders tall Stood watching on his castle wall That he might dwell secure. Strange visions did upon him throng With shapes confused which held him long, A riot in his brain. Unbridled lust, unbounded power So worked upon him in that hour.... I think he was insane. And I--who had no God to please, And nursed him crowing on my knees-- I waited by the stair, And as he gave a joyous note, Passed this bright iron thro' his throat And left him lying there. The King's Cloak. There was a King in Norroway Who loved a famous sport, He followed it in the sun and snow With the nobles of his Court. In all his kingdom mountainous Was none so swift as he (For so they said who ate his bread) At running on the ski. His black heart swelled with pride As the acorn swells with the tree, And from all his kingdom mountainous He called the men of the ski. From fir-pricked crag and gloomy gorge Where the lonely log-huts cling, And till the King's word bade them cease They raced before the King. So raced they down a spear-broad track, Where never tree did grow, Between the mountains and the sea A thousand feet below Till sundip in a cold pearl sky And a west of ageless pink From a withered pine to the King enthroned With his nobles by the brink. There ran one with the racers Straight-fashioned as a sword, With sail-brown cheek and eyes as deep As water in a fiord And till the King's word bade them cease None passed or touched him near, He leapt as frightened chamois leap And ran like a stricken deer. Dusk threw a hateful shadow On the King's countenance "The guerdons of thy skill," cried he, "Or, boy, thy luck, perchance? This figured ivory drinking horn! This turquoise-hilted sword! But ... shall I see no marvel Ere day dips in the fiord?" "There is not in fair Norroway My master on the ski One bolder or more skilful.... A marvel wouldst thou see?" --Bold and high was the answer-- "'Twas skill not luck, Oh! King, I am the swiftest.... A marvel Of whom the scalds shall sing." "Oh! yonder stand the mountains And yonder moans the sea And he who leapt from the topmost crag.... A bold man would he be. A bold man ... yea, a marvel For the grey-haired scalds to hymn...." Day dying touched his swarthy cheek With a lurid light and grim, While he made the gloomy challenge And round a murmur ran, But ... the boy bowed low and answered, "Oh! King, behold the man The swiftest and the boldest In thy kingdom by the sea, From mountain or ... from hatred What man can do, dares he." ... He swept down from the mountain Like an eaglet on a hare With bent back and swinging arms And tossing golden hair.... The King stood by the precipice (A small sea moaned and broke) ... Looked down over the wrinkled sea And swiftly loosed his cloak. ... He came as an arrow is loosened.... As a slinger slings a stone, Clutched (as the sun shot downwards) At one on the brink alone.... The King leapt back ... the King laughed out.... The great cloak floated free.... There came no sound--tho' he listened long-- From the darkened moaning sea. The Knight and the Witch. A voice cried over the Hills "Follow the strange desire. Oh! follow, follow, follow, The world is on fire. Day burns on funeral bed In flame of sky and sea, And, black against that red, Is the tower where dwelleth she And gazeth, white foot pressed On bruisèd heaps of bloom, O'er the sea which cannot rest And sounds thro' her room. Murmurs in her room Thro' a casement open wide The sea which is a tomb For mariners of pride. Oh! follow, follow, follow, Come quickly unto her, Her body is more sweet Than cassia or myrrh, She is whiter than the moon, She is stranger than death, Stronger than the new moon Which the waters draweth. More lovely are her words More lovely is she Than the flight of white birds O'er a halcyon sea. She took the stars for toys-- Her magic was so strong-- Murmurs of earth and the noise Of green seas for a song. She leant down on the sill And called across the sea. ... Oh! follow, follow, follow, Come quickly unto me...." A voice cried over the Hills "Oh! come, I fail, I swoon, Pale with my love's excess, Paler than our pale moon. Oh! come, Oh! come, Oh! come, Before the days eclipse We'll meet with brimming eyes And kiss with quivering lips. Love-drunken, breast to breast, With half-closed eyes we'll kiss, And reel from bliss to pain From pain again to bliss. The sea which cannot rest From its undernote of doom (We swooning breast on breast) Shall murmur thro' my room. Shall murmur all night long Thro' a casement open wide. The sea, which is a tomb For mariners of pride, With an undernote of doom Shall murmur evermore That love is in the room And Death is at the door, That Death will bruise to dust Our flower-drenched passion soon Darker than darkest night Colder than our cold moon. So shall it ebb and flow Our love like those sea-tides For a space ... a little space-- What matter? ... nought abides." A voice cried over the Hills, "What matter? ... all things die, Our quivering love's excess, Our rose-drenched ecstasy As glimmering waters drawn By the magic of the moon, As the moon itself at dawn Our love shall vanish soon. So swift (my love-pale groom) A white bird wings its flight. Then find you Death's cold room, Darker than darkest night; Then find you that dark door (And find it all men must) And love there nevermore But crumble back to dust, And kiss there nevermore In flower-drenched ecstasy; Too late then to implore, Too cold to hear a cry." And then towards the shelving beach A cedar shallop drew, With silver prow shaped like a swan And sails of rainbow hue. Swiftly it came with a wake of foam And lying on its side Like an arrow's flight towards the Knight, Tho' none sat there to guide. And in the shallows by the shore It came to rest at last, The cordage slacked and the rainbow sail Flapped idly on the mast. And the Swan-prow with the ruby eyes Opened his silver beak, And with a musical, magic voice He thus began to speak. "Step in, step in, my gallant lad, Your youth shall be my fare. For you my mistress opes her door And combs her wine-dark hair. She swelled my sail with an eager wind And drove me to this beach, She gave strange sight to my ruby eyes And filled my beak with speech. "She saw you in the magic glass The
{'title': 'A Legend of Old Persia and Other Poems by A. B. S. Tennyson', 'source': 'Project Gutenberg', 'lang': 'en'}