The dull turned bright as I caught your white On my bosom: you saved me vain --- saved in VIII. Hardly! That must be understood! The earth is your place of penance, then; If you ruined yourself, and all through And what will it prove? I desire your me! III. good, But, plot as I may, I can find no way Yes, all through the speckled beast that I How a blow should fall, such as falls on 10 20 XIV. For I was true at least - oh, true enough! DIS ALITER VISUM; OR, LE BYRON And, Dear, truth is not as good as it DE NOS JOURS. seems! Commend me to conscience! Idle stuff! Much help is in mine, as I mope and pine, And skulk through day, and scowl in my At my swan's obtaining the crow's I. STOP, let me have the truth of that! Met on a morning, friends -- as thus II. Did you because I took your arm And sillily smiled, "A mass of brass "That sea looks, blazing underneath!" While up the cliff-road edged with heath, We took the turns nor came to harm III. Did you consider "Now makes twice 40 "With this poor pretty thoughtful thing, "Draws, hopes in time the eye grows nice; IV. "Reads verse and thinks she understands; "Down at the bath-house love the sea, "Who breathe its salt and bruise its sands: V. "While do but follow the fishing-gull "There's the sea-lover, fair my friend! mend! "Had you the making of your skull?" VI. And did you, when we faced the church Where a few graveyard crosses are, VII. Did you determine, as we stepped O'er the lone stone fence, "Let me get "Her for myself, and what's the earth "With all its art, verse, music, worth "Compared with love, found, gained, and kept? VIII. "Schumann's our music-maker now; 70 And let us pent-up creatures through Into eternity, our due? Which stabs and stops, that the woman I loved No forcing earth teach heaven's employ? | Needs help in her grave and finds none vaunt, Were the woman, that's dead, alive to hear, Had her lover, that's lost, love's proof to show! 40 But I cannot show it; you cannot speak From the churchyard neither, miles removed, Though I feel by a pulse within my cheek, 20 30 40 "Myself in that moment; a ruffian lies "Somewhere: your slave, see, born in his place!" VI. What did the other do? You be judge! Look at us, Edith! Here are we both! Give him his six whole years: I grudge None of the life with you, nay, loathe Myself that I grudged his start in advance Of me who could overtake and pass. But, as if he loved you! No, not he, Nor anyone else in the world, 'tis plain: Who ever heard that another, free As I, young, prosperous, sound and sane, Poured life out, proffered it "Half a glance There was a prize! But we both were tried. Oh, heart of mine, marked broad with her mark, Tekel, found wanting, set aside, Scorned! See, I bleed these tears in the dark Till comfort come and the last be bled: IX. If it would only come over again! - Time to be patient with me, and probe 50 This heart till you punctured the proper vein, Just to learn what blood is: twitch the robe From that blank lay-figure your fancy draped, Prick the leathern heart till the verses And late it was easy; late, you walked name Arose to one's lip if one laughed or talked; If I heard good news, you heard the X. "Of those eyes of yours and I drop the And alive I shall keep and long, you will glass!" VII. Handsome, were you? 'Tis more than they held, More than they said; I was 'ware and watched: I was the scapegrace, this rat belled The cat, this fool got his whiskers scratched: The others? No head that was turned, no heart Broken, my lady, assure yourself! Each soon made his mind up; so and so Married a dancer, such and such Stole his friend's wife, stagnated slow, Or maundered, unable to do as much, And muttered of peace where he had no part: While, hid in the closet, laid on the shelf, VIII. On the whole, you were let alone, I think! So, you looked to the other, who acquiesced; My rival, the proud man, - prize your pink Of poets! A poet he was! I've guessed: He rhymed you his rubbish nobody read, Loved you and doved you did not I laugh! see! I knew a man, was kicked like a dog From gutter to cesspool; what cared he So long as he picked from the filth his prog? He saw youth, beauty and genius die, And jollily lived to his hundredth year. But I will live otherwise: none of such life! At once I begin as I mean to end. Go on with the world, get gold in its strife, Give your spouse the slip and betray 70 your friend! There are two who decline, a woman and I, And enjoy our death in the darkness here. |