Studies in Song | Page 5

the wind
Leaps to the lifting breeze
that bids it leap,
Large-hearted, and its thickening mane be thinned

By the strong god's breath moving on the deep
From utmost Atlas
even to extremest Ind
That shakes the plain where no men sow nor
reap,
So, moved with wrath toward men that ruled and sinned
And
pity toward all tears he saw men weep,
Arose to take man's part
His loving lion heart,
Kind as the sun's that
has in charge to keep
Earth and the seed thereof
Safe in his lordly love,
Strong as sheer
truth and soft as very sleep;
The mightiest heart since Milton's leapt,

The gentlest since the gentlest heart of Shakespeare slept.
23.
Like the wind's own on her divided sea
His song arose on Corinth,
and aloud
Recalled her Isthmian song and strife when she
Was
thronged with glories as with gods in crowd
And as the wind's own

spirit her breath was free
And as the heaven's own heart her soul was
proud,
But freer and prouder stood no son than he
Of all she bare
before her heart was bowed;
None higher than he who heard
Medea's keen last word
Transpierce
her traitor, and like a rushing cloud
That sundering shows a star
Saw pass her thunderous car
And a
face whiter and deadlier than a shroud
That lightened from it, and the
brand
Of tender blood that falling seared his suppliant hand.
24.
More fair than all things born and slain of fate,
More glorious than all
births of days and nights,
He bade the spirit of man regenerate,

Rekindling, rise and reassume the rights
That in high seasons of his
old estate
Clothed him and armed with majesties and mights
Heroic,
when the times and hearts were great
And in the depths of ages rose
the heights
Radiant of high deeds done
And souls that matched the sun
For
splendour with the lightnings of their lights
Whence even their uttered names
Burn like the strong twin flames

Of song that shakes a throne and steel that smites;
As on Thermopylæ
when shone
Leonidas, on Syracuse Timoleon.
25.
Or, sweeter than the breathless buds when spring
With smiles and
tears and kisses bids them breathe,
Fell with its music from his
quiring string
Fragrance of pine-leaves and odorous heath
Twined
round the lute whereto he sighed to sing
Of the oak that screened and
showed its maid beneath,
Who seeing her bee crawl back with broken
wing
Faded, a fairer flower than all her wreath,

And paler, though her oak
Stood scathless of the stroke
More sharp
than edge of axe or wolfish teeth,
That mixed with mortals dead
Her own half heavenly head
And life
incorporate with a sylvan sheath,
And left the wild rose and the dove

A secret place and sacred from all guests but Love.
26.
But in the sweet clear fields beyond the river
Dividing pain from
peace and man from shade
He saw the wings that there no longer
quiver
Sink of the hours whose parting footfalls fade
On ears which
hear the rustling amaranth shiver
With sweeter sound of wind than
ever made
Music on earth: departing, they deliver
The soul that
shame or wrath or sorrow swayed;
And round the king of men
Clash the clear arms again,
Clear of all
soil and bright as laurel braid,
That rang less high for joy
Through the gates fallen of Troy
Than
here to hail the sacrificial maid,
Iphigeneia, when the ford

Fast-flowing of sorrows brought her father and their lord.
27.
And in the clear gulf of the hollow sea
He saw light glimmering
through the grave green gloom
That hardly gave the sun's eye leave
to see
Cymodameia; but nor tower nor tomb,
No tower on earth, no
tomb of waves may be,
That may not sometime by diviner doom
Be
plain and pervious to the poet; he
Bids time stand back from him and
fate make room
For passage of his feet,
Strong as their own are fleet,
And yield the
prey no years may reassume
Through all their clamorous track,
Nor night nor day win back
Nor

give to darkness what his eyes illume
And his lips bless for ever: he

Knows what earth knows not, sings truth sung not of the sea.
28.
Before the sentence of a curule chair
More sacred than the Roman,
rose and stood
To take their several doom the imperial pair

Diversely born of Venus, and in mood
Diverse as their one mother,
and as fair,
Though like two stars contrasted, and as good,
Though
different as dark eyes from golden hair;
One as that iron planet red
like blood
That bears among the stars
Fierce witness of her Mars
In bitter fire
by her sweet light subdued;
One, in the gentler skies
Sweet as her amorous eyes:
One proud of
worlds and seas and darkness rude
Composed and conquered; one
content
With lightnings from loved eyes of lovers lightly sent.
29.
And where Alpheus and where Ladon ran
Radiant, by many a rushy
and rippling cove
More known to glance of god than wandering man,

He sang the strife of strengths divine that strove,
Unequal, one with
other, for a span,
Who should be friends for ever in heaven above

And here on pastoral earth: Arcadian Pan,
And the awless lord of
kings and shepherds, Love: