Thomas Humphry Ward, ed. The English Poets. 1880–1918.rnVol. V. Browning to Rupert Brooke
John Addington Symonds (18401893)Extracts from Stella Maris: Three Sonnets: III. And then she rose; and rising, then she knelt
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And then she paced the floor with passionate tread;
And then she sank with that imperial head
Bowed on bare knees: her broad arms made a belt
To clasp them; dark rebellious hair was shed
In tempest o’er fixed ardent eyes which dwelt,
Searching my heart’s heart; yea, my manhood felt
From that tense huddled form intensest dread.
Nerves quaked; veins curdled; thin compulsive flame
Thrilled through her crouching flesh to my couched soul
Expectant; lingering minutes winged with blame
Swept over us with voiceless thunder-roll,
While the vast silence of the midnight stole,
Merging our sin, a shuddering sea of shame!