27. The Goddess in the Wood

IN a flowered dell the Lady Venus stood,

Amazed with sorrow. Down the morning one

Far golden horn in the gold of trees and sun

Rang out; and held; and died.… She thought the wood

Grew quieter. Wing, and leaf, and pool of light

Forgot to dance. Dumb lay the unfalling stream;

Life one eternal instant rose in dream

Clear out of time, poised on a golden height.…

Till a swift terror broke the abrupt hour.

The gold waves purled amidst the green above her;

And a bird sang. With one sharp-taken breath,

By sunlit branches and unshaken flower,

The immortal limbs flashed to the human lover,

And the immortal eyes to look on death.