Songs of the Springtides and Birthday Ode

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Title: Songs of the Springtides and Birthday Ode
Taken from The Collected Poetical Works of Algernon Charles Swinburne--Vol. III
Author: Algernon Charles Swinburne
Release Date: April 30, 2006 [EBook #18287]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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Produced by Paul Murray, Diane Monico, and the Project?Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team at?http://www.pgdp.net.
SONGS OF THE SPRINGTIDES
BIRTHDAY ODE
Taken from?THE COLLECTED POETICAL WORKS?OF ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE,?VOL. III
By
Algernon Charles Swinburne
SWINBURNE'S POETICAL WORKS
I. POEMS AND BALLADS (First Series).
II. SONGS BEFORE SUNRISE, AND SONGS OF TWO NATIONS.
III. POEMS AND BALLADS (Second and Third
Series), and SONGS OF THE SPRINGTIDES.
IV. TRISTRAM OF LYONESSE, THE TALE OF BALEN,
ATALANTA IN CALYDON, ERECHTHEUS.
V. STUDIES IN SONG, A CENTURY OF ROUNDELS, SONNETS
ON ENGLISH DRAMATIC POETS, THE HEPTALOGIA, ETC.
VI. A MIDSUMMER HOLIDAY, ASTROPHEL, A CHANNEL PASSAGE
AND OTHER POEMS.
LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN
SONGS OF THE SPRINGTIDES
BIRTHDAY ODE
By
Algernon Charles Swinburne
1917
LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN
_First printed (Chatto), 1904_
_Reprinted 1904, '09, '10, '12_
_(Heinemann), 1917_
_London: William Heinemann, 1917_
SONGS OF THE SPRINGTIDES
TO EDWARD JOHN TRELAWNY 293
THALASSIUS 295
ON THE CLIFFS 311
THE GARDEN OF CYMODOCE 326
BIRTHDAY ODE 341
NOTES 359
SONGS OF THE SPRINGTIDES
DEDICATION
TO EDWARD JOHN TRELAWNY
_A sea-mew on a sea-king's wrist alighting,?As the north sea-wind caught and strained and curled?The raven-figured flag that led men fighting?From field to green field of the water-world,?Might find such brief high favour at his hand?For wings imbrued with brine, with foam impearled,?As these my songs require at yours on land,?That durst not save for love's free sake require,?Being lightly born between the foam and sand,?But reared by hope and memory and desire?Of lives that were and life that is to be,?Even such as filled his heavenlier song with fire?Whose very voice, that sang to set man free,?Was in your ears as ever in ours his lyre,?Once, ere the flame received him from the sea._
THALASSIUS
Upon the flowery forefront of the year,?One wandering by the grey-green April sea?Found on a reach of shingle and shallower sand?Inlaid with starrier glimmering jewellery?Left for the sun's love and the light wind's cheer?Along the foam-flowered strand?Breeze-brightened, something nearer sea than land?Though the last shoreward blossom-fringe was near,?A babe asleep with flower-soft face that gleamed?To sun and seaward as it laughed and dreamed,?Too sure of either love for either's fear,?Albeit so birdlike slight and light, it seemed?Nor man nor mortal child of man, but fair?As even its twin-born tenderer spray-flowers were,?That the wind scatters like an Oread's hair.
For when July strewed fire on earth and sea?The last time ere that year,?Out of the flame of morn Cymothoe?Beheld one brighter than the sunbright sphere?Move toward her from its fieriest heart, whence trod?The live sun's very God,?Across the foam-bright water-ways that are?As heavenlier heavens with star for answering star,?And on her eyes and hair and maiden mouth?Felt a kiss falling fierier than the South?And heard above afar?A noise of songs and wind-enamoured wings?And lutes and lyres of milder and mightier strings,?And round the resonant radiance of his car?Where depth is one with height,?Light heard as music, music seen as light.?And with that second moondawn of the spring's?That fosters the first rose,?A sun-child whiter than the sunlit snows?Was born out of the world of sunless things?That round the round earth flows and ebbs and flows.
But he that found the sea-flower by the sea?And took to foster like a graft of earth?Was born of man's most highest and heavenliest birth,?Free-born as winds and stars and waves are free;?A warrior grey with glories more than years,?Though more of years than change the quick to dead?Had rained their light and darkness on his head;?A singer that in time's and memory's ears?Should leave such words to sing as all his peers?Might praise with hallowing heat of rapturous tears?Till all the days of human flight were fled.?And at his knees his fosterling was fed?Not with man's wine and bread?Nor mortal mother-milk of hopes and fears,?But food of deep memorial days long sped;?For bread with wisdom and with song for wine?Clear as the full calm's emerald hyaline.?And from his grave glad lips the boy would gather?Fine honey of song-notes goldener than gold,?More sweet than bees make of the breathing heather,?That he, as glad and bold,?Might drink as they, and keep his spirit from cold.?And the boy loved his laurel-laden hair?As his own father's risen on the eastern air,?And that less white brow-binding bayleaf bloom?More than all flowers his father's eyes relume;?And those high songs he heard,?More than all notes of any landward bird,?More than all sounds less free?Than the wind's quiring to the choral sea.
High things the high song