And throned within sat Darkness.—­Who might gaze
  Upon that form, that threatening presence there,
  Crowned with the flickering corpse-lights of Despair,
And yet escape sans madness and amaze?

XVIII

And we had hoped to find among these hills
  The House of Beauty!—­Curst, yea, thrice accurst,
  The hope that lures one on from last to first
With vain illusions that no time fulfills!

XIX

Why will we struggle to attain, and strive,
  When all we gain is but an empty dream?—­
  Better, unto my thinking, doth it seem
To end it all and let who will survive;

XX

To find at last all beauty is but dust;
  That love and sorrow are the very same;
  That joy is only suffering’s sweeter name;
And sense is but the synonym of lust.

XXI

Far better, yea, to me it seems to die;
  To set glad lips against the lips of Death—­
  The only thing God gives that comforteth,
The only thing we do not find a lie.

Spirit of Dreams

I

Where hast thou folded thy pinions,
  Spirit of Dreams? 
Hidden elusive garments
  Woven of gleams? 
In what divine dominions,
  Brighter than day,
Far from the world’s dark torments,
  Dost thou stay, dost thou stay?—­
When shall my yearnings reach thee
  Again? 
Not in vain let my soul beseech thee! 
  Not in vain! not in vain!

II

I have longed for thee as a lover
  For her, the one;
As a brother for a sister
  Long dead and gone. 
I have called thee over and over
  Names sweet to hear;
With words than music trister,
  And thrice as dear. 
How long must my sad heart woo thee,
  Yet fail? 
How long must my soul pursue thee,
  Nor avail, nor avail?

III

All night hath thy loving mother,
  Beautiful Sleep,
Lying beside me, listened
  And heard me weep. 
But ever thou soughtest another
  Who sought thee not;
For him thy soft smile glistened—­
  I was forgot. 
When shall my soul behold thee
  As before? 
When shall my heart infold thee?—­
  Nevermore? nevermore?

LINES AND LYRICS

To a Wind-Flower

I

Teach me the secret of thy loveliness,
  That, being made wise, I may aspire to be
As beautiful in thought, and so express
  Immortal truths to earth’s mortality;
Though to my soul ability be less
  Than ’t is to thee, O sweet anemone.