ALANSON HARTPENCE 
 
Book Jbfii :&L 
 CopyrightN _L3 Of 
 
 COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2011 with funding from 
 The Library of Congress 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/poisonedlakeotheOOhart 
 
The 
 
 POISONED LAKE 
 
 AND OTHER POEMS 
 
 By 
 
 ALANSON HARTPENCE 
 
 BROADWAY PUBLISHING CO . 
 
 835 BROADWAY, NEW YORK 
 
0% 
 
 LIBRARY of COf 
 ! wo Copies Kecetwfl 
 
 MAR ia08 
 
 n •- 
 
 ** COWY a. 
 
 L 
 
 Copyright. 1908, 
 
 BY 
 
 ALANSON HARTPENCE 
 
 All Rights Reserved 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 
 The Poisoned Lake 3 
 
 Part 1 4 
 
 Part II 9 
 
 Part III 16 
 
 Short Poems: 
 
 Vine Leaves 23 
 
 Aqua Benedicta 25 
 
 A Shower 28 
 
 A Night Picture 30 
 
 Fame 31 
 
 The Traveler Tells 32 
 
 Domesticity 33 
 
 Spring — A Fragment 36 
 
 A Song 37 
 
 To a Pair of Shoes 38 
 
 Mystery 39 
 
 I Celebrate Myself 43 
 
 Nothing and Something 47 
 
 Sleep 48 
 
 At Anchor 49 
 
 Parting in Port SO 
 
 To an Every-day Woman 52 
 
 Lament 53 
 
 By a Mountain Brook 54 
 
 September 55 
 
11 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 October 56 
 
 By the River 57 
 
 On an Ocean Liner 58 
 
 Innominatum 63 
 
 I Wonder Will You Love Me 64 
 
 To a Parasitic Woman 65 
 
 The Raven and the Skull 67 
 
 A Mood 69 
 
 Songs of the Infinite 73 
 
®fj? -Poison^ Sake 
 
OIIj? ffotaott^ Sake 
 
 PRELUDE. 
 
 /jtOULD you follow birds of passage 
 *&r As they drift o'er evening skies, 
 Then perchance you might discover 
 Where my sweet Arcadia lies. 
 
 Gentle country, rolling country ; 
 
 Hills and dells where brooks reside :- 
 Lowing cattle, failing hours ; 
 
 Homes where loving hearts abide. 
 
 So I sing you of Arcadia 
 
 As it was my paradise, 
 And midst its waving green hills — 
 
 Grief to tell it — 
 There the lake of poison lies. 
 
The Poisoned Lake 
 
 PART I. 
 
 rrtJtlDST the whitened field of daisies, 
 3W With little care to what might guide ; 
 Neath the summer's golden sunshine, 
 Free of care I wandered wide. 
 
 Wandered wide, wandered wide, 
 
 Free of care I wandered wide 
 Till I met a little shepherd : — 
 
 Flute and sheepskin, curls beside! 
 
 "Whither wanders my pretty pathway, 
 Ah, my dear youth, pray confide ; — 
 
 Winds it long yon wooded hillside 
 
 To where by chance some fairies 'bide? 
 
 Ah ! nay ; nay, sir : 
 
 Dreadful things to it will guide; 
 Midst that dark and gloomy forest 
 
 Runs the wild wolf there to hide!" 
 
and Other Poems 
 
 "All we shepherds hold it fearful, 
 For 'tis not as you surmise : — 
 
 Oft have heard I fathers caution, 
 'Go not hence in any guise.' " 
 
 Loving father, fearing father, 
 Trusting naught to youthful eyes ; 
 
 Thinks he then his child might falter, 
 And in wildwood lost, of hunger dies. 
 
 Then for caution to his children, 
 Tells he them such loving lies ; 
 
 But the words this lad has spoken 
 Were not meant for manly size. 
 
 So on turning to the shepherd 
 Said I to him : Lad, good-bye ; 
 
 But my words were hardly spoken 
 Before I heard his warning cry. 
 
 "Oh, I pray you stay from the hillside, 
 Caring not what fate may guide ; 
 
 For my tame owls often told me, 
 Lies a lake the other side : 
 
6 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 Oh, so dreadful! Oh, so fearful! 
 
 Where he who drinks shall rot and die, 
 And lay unmourned of long the lake side 
 
 Save for the pines' remembrant sigh." 
 
 But to heed him naught could keep me, 
 So I bade him fond good day ; 
 
 Told him naught could harm me, 
 And smiling went the hill-side way. 
 
 Upwards through the mighty forest 
 Faintly traced my path away, 
 
 And as I follow now more thoughtful 
 Hear I then a mournful lay. 
 
 Little shepherd ; arms akimbo, 
 
 With nodded head to flute he plays : 
 
 Six small fingers slowly wander 
 And plaintive melody obeys. 
 
 Rising high it shortly finds me, 
 
 And midst the ferns and foliage fades ; 
 Seeming mourns my rash departure, 
 
 And still all responsibility evades. 
 
and Other Poems 
 
 Higher, higher; onwards, onwards, 
 Mount I towards the azured sky; 
 
 While the air so sad and mournful 
 Grows more distant from on high. 
 
 Distant, distant, still more distant, 
 Borne on breezes stealing by; — 
 
 Intermittent times of silence — 
 There — I knew it could but die. 
 
 Now how lovely grows the forest 
 As it lights and breaks away ; — 
 
 There on summit bald and lonely, 
 Weary now, my steps will stay. 
 
 Rest I then on warm earth's surface, 
 And dreaming wait the waning day ; 
 
 Where the silence loves to linger, 
 And still small breezes play. 
 
 So with weary steps I plodded 
 To gain the height I would abide, 
 
 And soon o'er crest of nearing summit 
 Breaks in view the country side. 
 
8 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 Neath me here the valley wanders ; 
 
 Midst the green hills doomed to fade 
 In the blue of yon horizon, 
 
 And the earth's translucent shade. 
 
 While here on summit lonely 
 
 Save for solitary pine, 
 That shades me in long shadows 
 
 And scents the air with wine ; 
 
 I lay me on my brown pine carpet, 
 
 And with face turned towards the sky 
 
 All my senses lulled in music, 
 
 Watch the great clouds drifting by. 
 
 Drooping eyelids, scents of flowers ; — « 
 Now for rest my spirit goes : 
 
 Shadow hunts in far-off dreamland, 
 While the sweet air softly blows. 
 
and Other Poems 
 
 
 PART II. 
 
 HAT was that that bade me follow 
 Down the valley there below ?-— 
 
 There they come now, coaxing ever. 
 Think they then to make me go? 
 
 Lovely maids, so gently treading, 
 Call me now with laughter gay : — 
 
 See their forms so softly blending 
 With this gloom so weird and gray ! 
 
 Still more near they now approach me, 
 And in sensuous rhythm dance around, 
 
 Cry aloud, throw me kisses, 
 
 Then stand still with ne'er a sound ; 
 
 While from out their midst there standeth 
 One more lovely than the rest, 
 
 And with faltering form before me, 
 Smiles, sways and then addressed : 
 
ip The: Poisoned Lake 
 
 "Come with me to the lake below, 
 Where silver waters lap and flow, 
 
 And drink me there the waters fair 
 That fire the blood and deaden care, 
 
 Till naught but more will satisfy, 
 So great is thirst's demanding cry, 
 
 Wrought in fiery blood's desire 
 That would in cool bliss expire ! 
 
 Come ! come to the lake with me 
 And learn love's utmost ecstasy ! 
 
 Gaze on me now from head to toe : 
 Am I not perfect as women go ?" 
 
 Then with wild delight the maidens fair 
 Form a hand-clasped circle there, 
 
 And round me in mad whirling reel 
 Till naught of senses can I feel, 
 
 As onwards staggered I : 
 
 Now held on soft arms reeling by, 
 Then swept with maddened tide 
 
 Down the gloomy mountain side, 
 
and Other Poems ii 
 
 Where only streaks of light break through, — 
 
 A hellish yellow in their hue — 
 And trees stand gaunt and leafless there, 
 
 As though by forest fire stripped bare ; 
 
 While from all about there seems to rise 
 One great note of silence terrorized, 
 
 As if some strange half -stated fear 
 Was about to reach completion here. 
 
 Down, down we quickly passed 
 
 Before the circle broke at last, 
 As rose there to the sky 
 
 One long and fearful cry. 
 
 How quickly stopped the maidens then 
 
 For all to gaze in terror, when 
 One stood pointing upwards, where 
 
 A great snake swung his body there : 
 
 With tail on black limb twisted round, 
 And long, sleek body dangling down, — 
 
 Just where a shaft of light broke through 
 That made his scales to glisten blue ; 
 
12 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 Now back and forth, and high and low 
 We see his head on lithe neck go, 
 
 While impatient tongue well justifies 
 The blood-red glare of beady eyes, — 
 
 Which holds us in hypnotic spell — 
 Till at our feet the serpent fell 
 
 And hissing lay, with mouth agape, 
 That fearing now we soon escape 
 
 By in the wild wood taking flight, — - 
 Where soon in shadow lost to sight, 
 
 We follow down the mountain side 
 With naught but fear to act as guide ! 
 
 Helter skelter down we fled, — 
 
 Here and there in wild wood sped — 
 
 At last to stay in thicket where 
 We see the lake in distance there. 
 
 Then gathered round the maidens all, — - 
 As loud there rang a bugle's call — 
 
 And pointing where a clearing lay 
 Bade me follow there away. 
 
and Other Poems 13 
 
 Soon they led me to the clearing, — 
 Where the light broke through — 
 
 And before me, on a throne of marble, 
 Sat the King of Pleasure, who 
 
 Watched our entrance with mild interest 
 
 And beckoned then a slave : 
 Told him tell us come before him 
 
 And dismissed him with a wave. 
 
 As we stand there now before him 
 Stepped there forth a lovely maid, 
 
 And bowing then in deepest reverence, 
 With silver voice essayed : 
 
 "We have brought you from the mountain — 
 
 Captive — here to-day, 
 Who would drink of pleasure's passion, 
 
 And steeped in senses e'er be gay. 
 
 Grant him drink of favored waters, 
 
 So of pleasure he may learn, 
 And before from here departing 
 
 Can prude morality discern !" 
 
14 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 Straightway then the King of Pleasure 
 Clapped his hands, and called by name 
 
 Maiden who with golden goblet 
 Held o'er head in answer came. 
 
 And there, before me standing, 
 Bade me take and contents drain 
 
 Ere its waters lose their magic 
 And time its powers wane. 
 
 Then to my lips I pressed the goblet 
 And quaffed its contents all : — 
 
 No sooner done than if by magic 
 My fleeting senses pall. 
 
 And now I stand in drunken stupor, 
 While the maidens dance with joy, — 
 
 Laughing at my strange condition — 
 And with merry jest would me annoy; 
 
 Till spoke the king in voice of stridence, 
 
 Telling them begone away, 
 And hunt the wild boar in the forest 
 
 Where, found at last at parting day, 
 
and Other Poems 15 
 
 They can in silence steal upon him, 
 And while he lies in rude rest — slay — 
 
 Then wreathe for me a wreath of bristles 
 To crown me in appropriate way. 
 
 Away, away they soon have vanished, 
 
 And leave me standing lone 
 Before the King, who then surveyed me, 
 
 With dark visage, from his throne. 
 
 Shortly then, with sense returning, 
 I hear his stern voice bid me take 
 
 The way that winds through yonder foliage 
 And leads me onward to the lake. 
 
1 6 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 PART III. 
 
 JjjJOW strange and dark these waters look ! 
 Wj How weird the skies are over-head ! 
 Grim hour of dusk hangs over all 
 
 While hoots the wild owl for the dead. 
 
 With slow and silent wings sails by 
 A hawk with murder in his breast; 
 
 Impatient bats dart here and there, 
 
 'As though by blind and mad fear pressed. 
 
 Dark forms of life are gathered here 
 And edge the lake shore round ; 
 
 Lone cries of fear ring loud and clear 
 To mock the drear owl's hooting sound. 
 
 Spirit of fate, that here innate 
 
 Echoes my spirit now, 
 Rends my breast from hope of the best, 
 
 And kills every former vow. 
 
and Other Poems 17 
 
 With fierce wild beats my heart mad leaps, 
 
 So great has grown my want ; 
 My throat burns fire with mad desire 
 
 Through drink from goblet left to haunt. 
 
 Drink, drink — my being cries — 
 Drink to quell this maddening fire! 
 
 Drink, and let thy soul so dire 
 In a senseless heaven expire! 
 
 And so I sought the lake-side now, 
 And there on hands and knees, — 
 
 Groping my way where the waters stay — 
 Sought my thirst's wild feeling to appease. 
 
 It seemed as though on slimy shore 
 
 The waters eddied in, 
 Like long black fingers from a hand 
 
 Darkened with the curse of sin. 
 
 And every time I bent to drink 
 
 The eddy flowed away 
 And stayed just where, if followed there, 
 
 To drink with ease one may. 
 
1 8 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 I followed on with frenzied might 
 
 And each time bent to gain, 
 But ere my lips had reached their prize, 
 
 The magic waters wane. 
 
 Exhaustion now lays hold on me 
 
 To stay my dreary way, 
 And on a tuft of rushes near, 
 
 My weary head I lay ; 
 
 While sombrous shadows darken all, 
 And soon my struggles cease, 
 
 For I felt the silent wings of death 
 Would bring my spirit peace. 
 
 When lo! there rose a soulful moan, 
 And through the dusk I see 
 
 A chalk-white face that hovers apace : 
 A face once known to me. 
 
 How different now, from once so fair, 
 Are the eyes that peer in mine! 
 
 Where, Oh where, is the lustre fair, 
 And the lashes long and fine ? 
 
and Other Poems 19 
 
 Cease, Oh cease, thy mute appeal 
 
 And tell me can it be, 
 Thou too hast drunk of the poisoned lake 
 
 And killed thy soul like me ? 
 
 One look of proof was cast my way, 
 
 Then vanished face and form ; 
 While over my soul a terror rolled 
 
 Like the violence of a storm. 
 
 And all of a sudden there came to me, 
 
 The horror of it all : 
 The horror of passions and instincts strong 
 
 And with what ease we fall. 
 
 Then I cried release from the mighty flesh, 
 And cried for a soul more strong : 
 
 A cry that sounds from the hearts of men 
 As long as the world goes 'long. 
 
 And the answer came in a manner then, 
 
 For the heavens broke in day : 
 Flooding the night with a golden light, 
 
 And banished my dream away. 
 
20 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 The lake at my feet dissolved in mist, 
 Then changed to summit where 
 
 Over my head, on a branch of the pine, 
 A bird called its mate from there : 
 
 Just a few notes from the warbler's throat, 
 
 As the sun stole in my eyes — 
 A great gold ball on the horizon wall 
 
 At the end of the day it lies. 
 
j^ijiirt PofotH 
 
£>tjort floema 
 
 VINE LEAVES. 
 
 /jtOULD I wreathe a wreath, 
 W* My love to wear, 
 For choice of vine leaf 
 I would despair. 
 
 One could find ne'er one so fair 
 As to grace that head of golden hair. 
 And grant it found, would not it jar 
 In the pure white light of her soul's star? 
 
 But I think perchance 
 Were I forced to choose 
 The ivy geranium 
 Would I use. 
 
 The one with leaves like wax, — 
 Classic formed that pink flowers tax: 
 Which loves to grow in tropic clime 
 O'er the high front wall in spring time. 
 23 
 
24 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 Yes, the leaves would do: 
 And the pink flowers too 
 Would kiss her hair 
 At random here and there. 
 
and Other Poems 25 
 
 AQUA BENEDICTA. 
 
 /|j\ NE morning, in spring, some time ago- 
 V!t/ A chance had led me there — 
 I found a little red-brick church 
 Not far from the village square. 
 
 There were trees about and ivy grew, 
 
 To soften the red-brick walls ; 
 While from some leafy recess near, 
 
 A discreet oriole calls. 
 
 No alien sound was there to break 
 The peace that charmed the place, 
 
 Save the crunch of my steps on the graveled 
 path 
 That marked my loitering pace. 
 
 I found the church doors opened wide, 
 
 And gazed at the shrine within ; 
 Where an aged priest in surpliced gown 
 
 Chanted an aged hymn. 
 
26 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 It seemed so quiet and restful there, 
 And a change from nature's green 
 
 That I crossed the hallowed brown-stone arch 
 And stole to a pew unseen. 
 
 And I sat and dreamt the time away 
 'Twixt a pious stained glass saint, 
 
 And a half-opened window in gothic style; 
 Where a wandering bee droned faint. 
 
 Till in there whirled with never a thought 
 
 Three sparrows in noisy race, 
 And perched on the edge of the sacred font; 
 
 Which they used for a bathing place. 
 
 They fluttered and ducked in the holy bowl, 
 
 And chirped in wildest rant ; 
 Little heeding or caring in any way, 
 
 The good priest's pious chant. 
 
 There was naught to stay their boist'rous glee, 
 Till the priest had finished his prayer ; 
 
 And came down the aisle saying Ave Maria, 
 And stopped in wonderment there. 
 
 
and Other Poems 27 
 
 Two of the three flew away in a scare ; 
 
 But the other one stood his ground, 
 And chirped like mad at the godly man, 
 
 With all the breath that he found. 
 
 It must have been his solemn face 
 
 That melted the little one's heart, 
 For he took to his wings in sudden fear, 
 
 And flew to a perch like a dart. 
 
 'Twas on the bust of a saint he lit — 
 
 Some martyr of pagan hate — 
 And hopped about in a rudely way, 
 
 On the good man's poor bald pate. 
 
 There he spread his wings in ruffled pride, 
 And with a last long chirp defied 
 
 The world of sanctity, and vanished in 
 The warm luxuriant air outside. 
 
28 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 A SHOWER. 
 
 JjjJAVE you ever heard the rumble 
 ■HJ Of the thunder far away? 
 It speaks a coming shower 
 
 To ease the heat of day ; 
 Then the clouds come drifting over, 
 
 And the world grows dark and gray — 
 But first there came the rumble 
 
 Of the thunder far away. 
 
 Have you ever heard the patter 
 
 Of the rain-drops on the road? 
 They come in slow succession 
 
 Then faster in their mode ; 
 Then the air grows fresh and fragrant, 
 
 As the clouds pour down their load — 
 But first there came the patter 
 
 Of the rain-drops on the road. 
 
 Have you ever seen the breaking 
 Of the dark and leaden sky? 
 
and Other Poems 29 
 
 How it filled the world with beauty 
 
 And caused the rain to die ! 
 Then the long bright streaks of sunshine 
 
 Came streaming from on high — 
 But first there came the breaking 
 
 Of the dark and leaden sky. 
 
 Have you ever seen the rainbow, 
 
 And its many colored parts, 
 As it arched the world in glory 
 
 Where the sun threw out its darts ? 
 Then the rose-bush by the road-side 
 
 Is hung with rain-drop hearts — 
 But they'll all go dropping, dropping 
 
 When that yellow songster starts. 
 
 And so the shower passes, 
 
 And the world in quiet lies, 
 With the verdure all reblooming, 
 
 And the deep blue in the skies. 
 And so the shower passes, 
 
 And the world in quiet lies, 
 With the verdure all reblooming, 
 
 And a deep blue in the skies. 
 
30 The: Poisoned Lake 
 
 A NIGHT PICTURE. 
 
 JjJOW wild, how wild is the wind to-night 
 Wj "In its mad race o'er the earth ; 
 How it blows the willow's streaming hair 
 Where the brook runs by in mirth ! 
 
 How wild, how wild is the wind to-night, 
 See it drive the dark clouds by ; 
 
 How massive they look as changing form 
 They pass o'er the silvered sky ! 
 
 In still, in strife, it comes and goes 
 Like the life of a human heart : 
 
 The rain must fall as human tears, 
 And then will strife depart. 
 
and Other Poems 31 
 
 FAME. 
 
 3SN'T this a pleasant room : — 
 You must not make a sound — 
 A lovely rug, a table, 
 
 See the book-shelves all around ? 
 
 Two gentlemen are seated 
 
 Near the lamp in easy-chairs, 
 They're both engulfed, with nodded heads, 
 
 In the wilds of authors' lairs. 
 
 Presently one asketh 
 
 In a meditative voice : 
 "Did you ever read this writer? 
 
 He's just my style and choice." 
 
 And shortly came the answer : — 
 
 "What, poems by so and so ? 
 Oh, yes; he's great — 
 
 Er — a — he died some time ago." 
 
32 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 THE TRAVELER TELLS. 
 
 ^THE low coast stretched its sandy shores, 
 
 w To breast the mighty sea ; 
 
 The moon hung low with a tropical glow, 
 
 And a sick hot heat hung over the lee. 
 A group of desolate palm trees stood 
 
 Where the hills in the horizon ran free ; 
 Those ancient hills, where through the night 
 
 A lion kept a lone sentry — 
 And all that I loved and all that I knew 
 
 Were thousands of miles from me. 
 
and Other Poems 33 
 
 DOMESTICITY. 
 
 JftifE went walking in the mountains, — 
 HB My little love and me — 
 And the road led through a valley 
 Midst the wildest scenery. 
 
 But my thoughts were not with nature, 
 For my love was near to me : — 
 
 And I kissed her, and I kissed her 
 'Neath an old elm tree. 
 
 I can hardly say what happened, 
 But some freak of fantasy 
 
 Made me turn and curse my action, 
 As onwards wandered we. 
 
 It seemed to me, I reasoned, — * 
 With all its ecstasy — 
 
 Love but pays to nature : — 
 For our life it is the fee. 
 
34 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 So with toads and snakes and lizards, 
 And with everything we see. 
 
 Man's a slave of nature : 
 
 Shall it be the same with me ? 
 
 While thus my thoughts went running, 
 
 My little love ran free, 
 Plucking buttercups and daisies 
 
 In merry ecstasy; 
 
 Till perchance she spies me : 
 
 "Oh, so sad," said she, 
 A.nd asked to know the reason 
 
 For such despondency. 
 
 So I told her of my reasons, 
 Said a wild man I would be, 
 
 And run in yonder forest 
 In wild defiancy. 
 
 And quickly came the answer : 
 "That's just what we will be, 
 
 'Cause if you should be going 
 You surely would want me." 
 
and Other Poems 35 
 
 But, my little love, I reasoned, 
 
 I think that you can see, 
 You never would be able 
 
 To run as fast as me ; 
 
 And should you take a tumble 
 
 Over a fallen tree, 
 There'd be no one there to help you 
 
 In such calamity. 
 
 "What ! you'd go on running 
 
 With never a thought for me, 
 Without so much as stopping 
 
 To see what happened me ?" 
 
 But can't you see, I asked her, 
 
 What that would have to be : 
 Why, that would be commencing 
 
 Our domesticity ! 
 
 "Well, I s'pose it would," she answered, 
 
 And then quite heartily : 
 "But I know you'd be a gentleman 
 
 And help and care for me." 
 
36 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 SPRING— A FRAGMENT. 
 
 A 
 
 ND then came the spring. 
 
 Oh the spring! 
 Green, gold, 
 
 And apple blossom incarnate. 
 A soft sighing breeze, 
 Faint rustling trees ; — 
 Oh the spring ! Oh the spring ! 
 
and Other Poems 37 
 
 ® 
 
 A SONG. 
 O-DAY, my love, the south wind blows, 
 
 ■*" All laden with warmth and treasure. 
 Come away, come away to the open fields 
 And bask in this glorious weather ! 
 
 My heart's astir with the first touch of spring, 
 
 And I would we were happy together. 
 
 Come away, come away where the brown 
 
 woods breathe 
 And the green creeps over the meadow ! 
 
38 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 TO A PAIR OF SHOES. 
 
 JjfJOW indifferent you are, 
 Wp How lifeless, mute, 
 As you stand collapsed — in pair — 
 In spite of your delicate feminine air. 
 I suppose you're trying to compute 
 The number of days she'll wear you yet 
 Before you're cast aside — 
 Ah, forever you would abide ! 
 
 You're lucky, my friends. 
 
 What joy to enfold 
 
 Those delicate ankles in your tops 
 
 Of soft-lined kid. 
 
 And when that little white foot, 
 
 All clothed in black, 
 
 Rests on your soul (as mine) 
 
 What fierce love must impel your dumb heart- 
 
 I fain would play your part. 
 
and Other Poems 39 
 
 MYSTERY. 
 
 ^t( WALKED in the woods one summer's 
 
 31 
 
 night 
 
 And a vision there came in the pale moon-light, 
 Treading so softly o'er the jewel-strewn grass : 
 Delicate, sensitive, a budding lass. 
 
 She held one hand o'er her silken breast 
 And her silvered arms hung close at rest; 
 While her head was turned as her breath came 
 
 warm, 
 And the cold moon kissed her ivory form. 
 
 I hid me 'neath a moss-grown tree 
 And watched this lass as she came toward me ; 
 Like music she glides o'er the woodland lawn, 
 Half leading, half led by a spotted fawn. 
 
 Now she stays a while at a wild rose bower 
 To fondle and scent that tender flower, 
 
40 Ths Poisoned Laks 
 
 And then for joy she garlands her doe 
 And laughs with delight at finding it so. 
 
 But soon her mirth was doomed to fade 
 For the lithe fawn heard some sound I made, 
 And sudden stood still to scent the air 
 Whilst the maid looked round in wonder there. 
 
 Then I knew they could but find me soon 
 
 So I stepped forth boldly in the light of the 
 
 moon, 
 Holding the nymph and her fawn at bay 
 And spreading stark terror where once was 
 
 play. 
 
 Just for an instant they stand their ground 
 Then leaps the wild fawn with bound on bound, 
 Scatt'ring those roses of fairest tints 
 All bruised and broken in its own foot-prints. 
 
 Now swift as an arrow from savage bow 
 Speeds the wild fawn, where none may know, 
 Leaving its mistress all trembling with fear 
 And soon to be captive of mortal man here 
 
and Other Poems 41 
 
 "What ho ! my fair maiden," in turning, I cry, 
 "Thy fawn has escaped me, but thou must not 
 
 try, 
 For I will soon hold thee if thou dost insist, — " 
 So saying I grasped the maid by her wrist. 
 
 Down on her knees sinks the maiden in fear, 
 
 Begging me free her by all that is dear ; 
 
 And weeping with bowed head she pleads me 
 
 relent, 
 Saying she meant me no evil intent. 
 
 "But who art thou, maiden?" unheeding, I say; 
 "And why earnest thou here by woodland 
 
 way? — 
 Come cease thy dull weeping and look up at me, 
 Then if thou wilt tell me I'll let thee go free!" 
 
 "Oh, sir!" said the maiden; "I bid thee take 
 
 care, 
 For I am called Myst'ry, whom man should 
 
 beware, 
 And if I should grant thee and look in thy face, 
 Why straightway I'd lose me all heavenly 
 
 grace." 
 
42 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 And so with bowed head she waits my reply, 
 Which soon with rude action, thus answered 
 
 i— 
 
 By forcing so cruelly this maid as she lies 
 To look, ere she cared to, in my mortal eyes. 
 
 Then boastfully laughing as mortals are wont, 
 I tell her to go join her fawn in its haunt, 
 Saying I find her as most mortal maids ; 
 For little cares mankind when mystery fades. 
 
 "Oh, now that you know me thou seest no 
 
 charm," 
 Said the maiden arising to be free of harm ; 
 Then cautiously retreating a few steps or so, 
 She stops to say scornfully before she will go : 
 
 "Thou think'st thou dost know me — poor fool- 
 ish man — 
 Still just as much mystery as ever I am, 
 For all is but mystery that eyes can behold : — 
 Good-bye, fool mortal, be thou less bold !" 
 
and Other Poems 43 
 
 I CELEBRATE MYSELF. 
 
 AFTER WAl/f WHITMAN. 
 
 3 CELEBRATE myself ! 
 I am truly wonderful : — 
 I am a microbe on a grain of dust 
 That is being blown somewhere through mys- 
 tery; 
 But I say that I can conquer the forces of na- 
 ture, 
 For I can build bridges — 
 I am truly a wonderful parasite. 
 
 I am a wonderful man amongst men ! 
 I go out in nature to write poetry : — 
 I look up at the sun and cry — 
 Oh glorious sun! 
 The sun is larger than I am, 
 The sun is a million times larger 
 Than the speck of dust I am on; 
 Still I compliment the sun — 
 Still I say I am a wonderful man. 
 
44 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 Again I cry, Oh glorious sun ! 
 
 And the sun answers me not. 
 
 The sun is but a small speck of dust, 
 
 A mere nothing amongst all the other suns 
 
 That my eyes can behold. 
 
 And the thousands of suns that I can behold 
 
 Must be as a speck of dust 
 
 To all the suns in existence. 
 
 I laugh with sardonic glee ; 
 
 I toy with my ear. 
 
 I say I am a wonderful man 
 
 And celebrate myself. 
 
 I say I am an American 
 And celebrate my birth-right. 
 Some one near says he is a Frenchman. 
 I laugh at his pride 
 
 And am ready to murder this other little me, 
 Thereby celebrating myself as an American. 
 I glory in the fact of my birth-right. 
 I belong to the most wonderful amongst na- 
 tions, 
 For I am an American. 
 I will do anything to emphasize it : 
 I stretch dried skins on a wooden rim 
 And pound on my instrument, 
 
and Other Poems 45 
 
 Which I call a drum. 
 
 I make a great noise. 
 
 I go out and parade at night. 
 
 There beneath the cold stretch of stars, 
 
 I parade in celebration of my birth-right; 
 
 While the little torch that I carry in my hat 
 
 Flickers its small wan blaze in competition 
 
 With the cold cruel constancy of the stars. 
 
 Thus I celebrate myself and my birth-right. 
 
 I am a wonderful man ! 
 
 I say there is a Maker of all things 
 
 And tell of Him one day in seven. 
 
 I endow Him with all the petty virtues I have 
 
 not. 
 I hide me from the sun in a little building 
 And grow quite eloquent about this Maker. 
 I declare in a loud voice 
 That He is all good, 
 And a woman who sits before me 
 With a cancer in her breast 
 Half believes what I declare. 
 I go on and tell more about my fancied Maker. 
 I picture Him just a little better than myself. 
 I make Him dwarf Himself to my level. 
 I declare what He thinks. 
 
46 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 I celebrate myself. 
 
 And when I have finished my discourse, 
 
 I go to my home well satisfied. 
 
 And as I pass through the streets homewards, 
 
 My eyes are cast down to the pavement. 
 
 I do not look at the stars. 
 
 Now that I have reached my own little building 
 
 I go up stairs and prepare for bed 
 
 And am soon in deep slumber. 
 
 But outside, the night sleeps not. 
 
 It sleeps not, but reigns silently. 
 
 With the silence of its great black truth. 
 
 With the silence of the stars. 
 
 With the silence of billions of miles of space. 
 
 With the silence of mystery. 
 
 With the silence of death. 
 
 And I do not celebrate myself, 
 
 Because I am asleep 
 
 And therefore as if dead. 
 
and Other Poems 47 
 
 NOTHING AND SOMETHING. 
 
 *Jf*M only a poet of small repute, — 
 HP And of fame am apt to despair — 
 But I know the truth of a woman's heart, 
 For I've gazed in wonderment there. 
 
 A woman's love is a wonderful thing, 
 And should be cherished with care; 
 
 For like a fragile Florentine Vase 
 It's apt to be hard to repair. 
 
48 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 SLEEP. 
 
 NIGHT ! draw thy sable curtains 
 O'er the tired stage of day ! 
 Moon ! disturb not the hours 
 With the light of thy sad countenance ! 
 Welcome! thou silent spirit of sleep; 
 Speed thee on thy holy rounds, 
 Kissing the heavy eye-lids of grief 
 Into the cool depths of thy Elysian fields ! 
 Fare thee well ! O world of sadness, 
 For I too bow before the silken emblem of 
 sleep ! 
 
and Other Poems 49 
 
 AT ANCHOR. 
 
 JjJitE lay and rolled in the trough of the sea 
 *W* And the wind in the rigging howled its 
 
 misery. 
 The night pressed down on the mighty deep 
 And the ship was quiet with the hush of sleep. 
 
50 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 PARTING IN PORT. 
 
 AD was the world that night, 
 Chill blew the winter's wind ; 
 
 Far glowed the harbor's light, 
 Dark lay the sea behind. 
 
 Slowly our ship moved on, 
 Waiting its pilot guide ; 
 
 Cold broke the moon on high, 
 Lighting the waters wide. 
 
 Sad was my heart that night, 
 Chilled by a fate unkind ; 
 
 For ere the morning's light, 
 Left I my love behind. 
 
 Tearless we parted there, 
 Each knew that fate defied ; 
 
 Bravely she bade me go, 
 Out in the world so wide. 
 
and Other Poems 51 
 
 Cast they the ropes away, 
 While I on the Tender's side 
 
 Waved me my love good-bye, — ■ 
 Wishing I ere had died. 
 
52 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 TO AN EVERY-DAY WOMAN. 
 
 JLOWN has the spirit,— 
 Gone with the day — 
 Still stay to mock us, 
 Death and the clay. 
 
 Hushed are the heart-beats, — 
 Stilled is the strife — 
 
 Peace lingers o'er her, 
 So lately of life. 
 
 And so life has 'parted : 
 Poor mortal heart, — 
 
 Firm in its striving — 
 Came to depart. 
 
 Spirit of nature : 
 
 Mark her we pray — • 
 
 Brave in her striving- 
 Best that she may ! 
 
and Other Poems 53 
 
 1 
 
 LAMENT. 
 
 ARK is the world to me, 
 
 Black with despair ; 
 Heart drinks its misery 
 
 Deadened with care. 
 The past hurls its curses 
 
 Of passion's lost strife, 
 To sicken my soul 
 
 Of all future life. 
 
 Age and the skeleton 
 
 Of memories come, 
 Sit down beside me, 
 
 Striking me dumb. 
 Dark is the world to me, 
 
 Black with despair ; 
 Heart drinks its misery 
 
 Deadened with care. 
 
54 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 BY A MOUNTAIN BROOK. 
 
 3 SLEPT one night by a mountain brook 
 Beneath a cloudless sky, 
 And the moon shone down in solemn state 
 O'er the high tree tops near by. 
 
 I awoke this night with yearning breast 
 At the lull of the midnight hour, 
 
 And the silvered silence seemed so great 
 That my heart grew oppressed by its power. 
 
 I lay this night in wonder wrapped 
 Till the moon hung low in the sky, 
 
 Leaving the woods in mystic dark— 
 With the murmuring brook and I. 
 
and Other Poems 55 
 
 SEPTEMBER. 
 
 gLEPTEMBER : thou art as a lovely woman 
 ?r Who hath reached her maturity, 
 And loves not with youth's fiery blood, 
 But rather with the warmth of fever. 
 
 Thou welcomest me in thy arms 
 With such assuring tenderness 
 That I note not such signs 
 Of age as are about you. 
 
 Ah September, I love thy spirit ! 
 
 In thy embrace there is rest, 
 
 And a quiet tenderness stays with thee ; 
 
 Of thy love there is no questioning. 
 
56 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 OCTOBER. 
 
 ^JjtEHOLD the woodland, in her pride 
 
 13 Of age, and departing year, 
 
 Hath cast aside her robe of green ; 
 
 And hath stolen from the summer's sky, the 
 rainbow : 
 
 Bedecking herself, high and low, in color mag- 
 nificent ! 
 
and Other Poems 57 
 
 BY THE RIVER. 
 
 3{t|JHERE the river winds its way, 
 W Birds are singing rondolay ; 
 All is happy, all is gay, 
 
 Life's worth living when it's May. 
 
 Bees are humming, snakes are sunning, 
 Brooks are running thereaway; 
 
 For there's bluest blue above us, 
 And there's sunshine all the day. 
 
 Little care have we for morrow, 
 Naught can now our joys allay; 
 
 Life's worth living by the river, 
 In the merry month of May. 
 
58 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 ON AN OCEAN LINER. 
 
 *jl WAS weary, I was home-sick, 
 <U And the night dragged slowly by : 
 While I lay and watched for day-light 
 To spread its wings on high. 
 
 But the hours went more slowly, 
 As if by Titans held in check, 
 
 So I wrapped me in my great coat 
 And stole up on the deck. 
 
 There I sought the lee side shelter 
 And leaned against the rail 
 
 Just as the lonely lookout 
 
 Sang his watch-call through the gale. 
 
 All was dark up in the heavens, 
 
 All was dark upon the sea, 
 And the sighing of the rigging 
 
 Bore my heart in company. 
 
 r '■ ■ 'ir - - - ■-- - — '-- 
 
and Other Poems 59 
 
 'Gainst our ship the great sea thundered 
 
 Till she trembled all afear, 
 While the sea ran back in darkness — 
 
 Waiting cat-like to appear : 
 
 Then in times of utmost silence, 
 
 While we bent to meet the sea, 
 The murmur of the waters 
 
 Sang my heart in sympathy. 
 
 But the howling of the high winds 
 
 Soon broke that magic spell, 
 Like a thousand throated demons 
 
 Driven o'er a wat'ry Hell. 
 
 And I stood there all forlornly, 
 While the tempest raged on high, 
 
 And the memories of a lifetime 
 Like a line of men pressed by : 
 
 Like a line of lifetime convicts, 
 
 Who shuffle past in place, 
 And each one turns to show me 
 
 His pallid prison face. 
 
60 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 Till to free me from this vision, 
 I gazed off through the dark, 
 
 Where far out in the blackness 
 Glowed a single fiery spark. 
 
 Oh star of hope, — I pondered — 
 
 How I glory in your sight, 
 For you mark the distant harbor 
 
 We make by morning's light! 
 
 And then I fell to watching 
 
 This far-off hopeful sign, 
 And I wondered had its watchman 
 
 A heart more sad than mine. 
 
 And thus against the railing, 
 
 My lonely watch I keep, 
 While our great ship — never quailing- 
 
 Fights its battle with the deep, 
 
 Till — hark! there chimes a signal 
 Like hope new-born set free, 
 
 And soon we turn to make our port 
 And run before the sea. 
 
and Other Poems 6i 
 
 Now, as the light grows brighter, 
 
 The first faint streaks of day 
 Come trooping o'er the distant shore 
 
 To make the world grow gray. 
 
 And then, in light of morning, 
 The gulls sweep down from high 
 
 And o'er our ship go sailing 
 With many an anxious cry; 
 
 While 'midst the clouds of heaven, 
 
 The morning sun breaks free 
 To throw her grand celestial light 
 
 Upon the darkened sea. 
 
 And soon her conq'ring rays disperse 
 
 The heavens' molten gray, 
 For one by one o'er yonder rim 
 
 The dark clouds sail away. 
 
 And now beneath the holy blue, 
 
 The harbor's mouth we make, 
 Where quiet sea and nearing land 
 
 Seem but some inland lake. 
 
62 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 Full many a joyous heart has come 
 
 To hail the nearing shore, 
 And o'er our deck the happy throng 
 
 Go laughing back and fore. 
 
 Great loves, high hopes, seem common things 
 
 Beneath this joyous blue, — 
 And I know not how it happened me, 
 
 My heart seemed joyous too. 
 
and Other Poems 63 
 
 INNOMINATUM. 
 
 /GLORIOUS passion unconfined 
 *!& Hath made me nature's prey. 
 Instinct, temperament — both combined — 
 Have left me naught to say. 
 
 Both good and bad are words of men, 
 
 Both words from God — some think and 
 say — 
 
 But when His magic thought comes in, 
 Emotions are His word and play. 
 
 So the living of life is a passive thing, 
 
 And resistance is our care — 
 It's not worth while to fume at nature, 
 
 She hasn't our sense of what's fair. 
 
64 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 I WONDER WILL YOU LOVE ME. 
 
 3 WONDER will you love me 
 In the days yet long to come, 
 When time has left its traces 
 And life seems all but done. 
 
 I wonder will your heart be mine 
 
 And love be just as true 
 Or will some thing of evil come 
 
 To kill the love in you. 
 
 As lovers vow their loved ones 
 
 So oft I've vowed to you, 
 Still life changes, hearts grow different, 
 
 And I wonder will yours too. 
 
and Other Poems 65 
 
 TO A PARASITIC WOMAN. 
 
 /|ft H I know you my fine beauty ; 
 Vit/ Oh I know you well enough 
 I don't mind it if you hate me — 
 You look ugly in a huff. 
 
 Oh I know you my fine beauty, 
 And understand your ways: — 
 
 I've seen you drag my fellow man 
 In delusion half his days. 
 
 You take the love he gives you, 
 And grant him be your slave ; 
 
 Or perhaps you did reward him, 
 With that ice-cold kiss you gave. 
 
 Your message is destruction, 
 You ravage on the soul ; 
 
 The only love that you can know 
 Has one person in its role. 
 
66 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 Oh I hate your ghastly beauty — 
 You walk in every class 
 
 From the dame of high society 
 To the simple village lass. 
 
 Oh I loathe you ! Oh I hate you ! 
 
 But I'm glad to say you're scarce, 
 Else I hardly would have courage 
 
 To write whate'er I dar'st. 
 
and Other Poems 6y 
 
 THE RAVEN AND THE SKULL. 
 
 /|ft NCE, at dead of night, 
 
 VP When one can hear 
 The howling silence 
 Beating on one's brain, 
 I lay — tempest tossed — 
 With fever's racking pain. 
 And, just as I 
 Was falling in 
 The deep bliss of sleep, 
 I opened wide my eyes 
 To find the raven and the skull ; — • 
 A dull, dead white 
 Against the night, 
 With Raven perched above. 
 There he sits 
 And pecks and gnaws — 
 Those claws — I thought them fangs — 
 They ran in ear-pits, eye-pits — 
 Just then I felt the fever's pain 
 Shake me in its jaws. 
 
68 The; Poisoned Laks 
 
 When at last the blur 
 
 Had cleared from my eyes, 
 
 I found him perched erect, 
 
 Croaking in greatest glee 
 
 These strange words to me : 
 
 "Good and bad ! 
 
 False and true ! 
 
 All is one, 
 
 One is all. 
 
 Thou art Him 
 
 And He is thee." 
 
 With fevered might, 
 
 To rid me of his sight, 
 
 I raised myself 
 
 To strike him dead. 
 
 But the skull went back in the night, 
 
 And the last that caught my sight 
 
 Was the sagging, wagging jaw, 
 
 As I heard it say, 
 
 In a scraping, grinding way : 
 
 "Good and bad! 
 
 False and true ! 
 
 All is one, 
 
 One is all, 
 
 Thou art Him 
 
 And He is thee." 
 
and Other Poems 69 
 
 A MOOD. 
 
 3JJJEARY with pain and earthly woe, 
 W Canker of life, blurred vision, 
 Blood on dust, heart sunk low ; 
 My fate and God's decision. 
 
 Thus burdened at the close of day, 
 From the sooty city I shrank away 
 And sank myself in the deep cool woods, 
 Where nature's magic held its sway. 
 
 Casting myself on a small stream's brink, 
 Breast to breast with nature, I began to think. 
 Almighty God, Merciless Destiny, 
 Mad hand of fate, Gigantic Despot, 
 Hast Thou no heart ? 
 
^nngs of % 3fafmtfr 
 
^nnga of % 3fttfmtte 
 
 ST was a winter night 
 In a city bright 
 When a ragged sight 
 By window's light 
 We see in street below. 
 
 Through alley and street, 
 Through the blinding sleet, 
 Not stopping to meet 
 But with step less fleet, 
 We see him go. 
 
 • • • • 
 
 The light is long past, — 
 Now he's caught in the blast, 
 Now pausing at last — 
 Murm'ring: "Seeing fate so cast, 
 Be it so." 
 
 73 
 
74 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 Now turning at length 
 With regaining strength, 
 As the hand of fate 
 He breaks in a gate, 
 While murm'ring low : — 
 
 "O ye home of buried bone, 
 
 And of the widows' groaning moan ! 
 
 O old home in nature's lap, 
 
 Where all return at the mystic rap ! 
 
 O ye white-eyed spectre drear 
 
 That dost greet mine entrance here ! 
 
 Tell me truly, with break of day 
 
 Steals my sad soul away ? 
 
 Tell me secret, — ere my sad life slips — 
 
 Plucked from countless speechless lips ! 
 
 Ah ! now I hear your crooning low 
 
 Rising above the wild wind's blow : 
 
 "It is the law— Be it so !" 
 
 Weak with hunger and pain, 
 
 Lurching, he walks again, 
 
 As foot-fall gives on snow-clad ground 
 
 A dull and hollow sound 
 
 To those below. 
 
and Other Poems 75 
 
 Now through the gloom 
 He sees a tomb. 
 Look, he tries the door ! 
 Locked; he tries once more! 
 "Fate— Be it so." 
 
 Weak, he can but fall. 
 Now the shelter of the wall, — 
 He gropes to find — 
 Leaves the mad storm half behind. 
 "Fate— Be it so." 
 
 Here, crouching protection from the storm, 
 We see his gaunt and haggard form ; 
 While he murmurs in half articulate way. 
 Hark to what he has to say, 
 Hark and know : 
 
 THE MYSTIC HAND. 
 
 There is a hand, — 
 A mighty hand, 
 The hand of fate, 
 The hand of time, — 
 That here all elements 
 Did combine; 
 The hand that rolled, — 
 
j6 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 Rolled the ball — 
 
 And on it made 
 
 Mountains and seas, 
 
 Plains and all ; 
 
 The hand that from 
 
 Nothing brought 
 
 Mountains of rock, 
 
 And the atom wrought, 
 
 Both matter from thought, 
 
 Part of the master mind; 
 
 The hand that moves 
 
 Indomitable fate, — 
 
 That our weakness proves-— 
 
 By unrelenting laws 
 
 That on humanity gnaws ; 
 
 The hand that from 
 
 The dark it takes 
 
 And you with matter 
 
 From its mind it makes, 
 
 And puts you here 
 
 In the sun's great light 
 
 But for an instant, — 
 
 In proportion right — 
 
 While in that instant — 
 
 O so fleeting — 
 
 The mystic hand is beating 
 
and Other Poems yj 
 
 Ever again, ever again repeating, 
 In the whirling of the ball, 
 A funeral march for all. 
 
 O the mystic hand 
 
 That placed you here, — 
 
 That placed her here 
 
 (Both matter from thought) — • 
 
 And life's drama wrote 
 
 That the first men brought : 
 
 The same old drama 
 
 Of ages past 
 
 That for countless hordes 
 
 Of men was cast — ■ 
 
 Reward of life, 
 
 Base instincts shove, 
 
 Better still, 
 
 Divine force of love — 
 
 Thumb and fore-finger close 
 
 To press 
 
 You breast to breast — 
 
 You know the rest. 
 
 While in life's instant, — 
 
 O so fleeting ! — 
 
 The mystic hand is beating 
 
 LOfa 
 
78 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 Ever again, ever again repeating, 
 In the whirling of the ball, 
 A funeral march for all. 
 
 What means — 
 O what means 
 The mind of matter 
 As over this world 
 We poor specks 
 It doth scatter. 
 What means — 
 O what means 
 The mind of matter 
 By our second of life? 
 Does He but wish 
 His power to flatter? 
 And if that be so, 
 Why, O why 
 Did he give me here 
 This that men call soul ? 
 Soul: 
 
 Is it but some forgotten mind 
 Of the workman's left behind? 
 Let us hope with intention kind, 
 To guide us back to the master mind 
 "It is the law— Be it so." 
 
and Other Poems 79 
 
 law. 
 
 Everything is as it was set : 
 Purpose — and power — driven. 
 The laws of men 
 Are but the laws of God 
 Indirectly given; 
 The ways of men 
 But the way of God ; 
 The power of men 
 But the power of God ; 
 All conform to the dominant nod : 
 "Be it so." 
 
 All is 
 
 Law, law, law, 
 
 Conceived set, given. 
 
 Hear the grinding mill of time 
 
 Grinding with the chime 
 
 Of law, law, law! 
 
 Hear we can its presence tell 
 
 By a wild and piercing yell 
 
 Of some animal victim, 
 
 Caught in conflicting wheels of law 
 
 (I wonder if the Creator saw) 
 
80 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 Such as self-preservation and death. 
 Never stopping for mortal woes, 
 Onward, onward it goes, 
 As the countless horde like me it takes 
 And back into nothing makes : 
 It is the law — "Be it so." 
 
 The storm is past, 
 Heaven's clear at last, 
 The moon fills the night 
 With silver light. 
 
 A gentle breeze 
 Moans in the trees 
 And of a sudden stops 
 As if not understood. 
 
 Everything still 
 Except distant rill, 
 Beauty serene 
 Reigneth supreme. 
 
 All is well 
 
 As held in the spell 
 
and Other Poems 8i 
 
 Our wandr'er repeats, 
 With wild heart-beats, 
 The song here given: 
 
 BEAUTY AND HOPE. 
 
 Beauty, beauty, 
 
 Food of passion, 
 
 Hypocritical smile of God : 
 
 Ah, but might I tear thy heart out 
 
 And read the meaning there written, — • 
 
 Meaning of the God that made thee, 
 
 Meaning of the God that made me, 
 
 Meaning of all ! 
 
 Beauty, beauty, 
 
 All life have I pursued thee, 
 
 All life have I wooed thee ! 
 
 Art thou but purpose of passion? 
 
 No, no, for I have seen thee 
 
 As deep melancholy of the woodland : 
 
 Sad soul of God 
 
 It seems as though 
 
 Thou echoed the soul that made thee, 
 
 And thou art the soul of man 
 
 In grander form. 
 
82 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 Beauty, beauty, 
 
 Mood of matter, 
 
 Matter from the mind of God : 
 
 In thy melancholy smile 
 
 So heartfelt, loving, 
 
 Lies hope, — 
 
 Hope for we poor mortals, 
 
 Hope for all ! 
 
 A distant bell 
 Tolled the midnight hour ; 
 Then with exultant lay 
 Rang in the Christmas day. 
 
 "Peal forth wild bell, 
 Peal forth the story 
 Of the Christ you tell : 
 The story the Christ gave, 
 The story of Mohammed, 
 And Plato, mild and grave ; 
 The story of hope, — 
 The hope of mankind 
 For life everlasting. 
 This hope, 
 
and Other Poems 83 
 
 That from our minds did come : 
 These minds of matter, — 
 Surely we fashioned them not ! 
 And the master mind that fashioned 
 Did it not make hope." 
 
 Ah, now methinks I hear the mystic rap, 
 (My poor matter wants of sap) 
 Or is it rib-bone's fall on coffin floor? 
 No! 'tis death rapping at the door." 
 
 He stands erect, 
 No fear on face can we detect : 
 Hollow cheeks and eye-pits sunk, 
 Racked with pain and weakness drunk. 
 
 "Death ! I fear thee not ; 
 I never cast my earthly lot. 
 I am but part of the infinite, 
 Part of the infinite mind!" 
 
 Before the law of death doth grasp,-— 
 
84 The; Poisoned Lake 
 
 Or will God to his bosom clasp? — 
 With uplifted hand to infinite sky, 
 His soul gives forth a parting cry : 
 
 EMANCIPATION. 
 
 "Out of the infinite, 
 
 Out of the mystery, 
 
 Came I here : 
 
 Conceived 
 
 But not conceiving, 
 
 Lodged with this matter, — 
 
 Part, parcel of the infinite mind. 
 
 Here am I : 
 
 Life, God, son of the father, 
 
 Brought and bound by rule and law 
 
 Of God's medium, nature; 
 
 Bound with this matter. 
 
 What is my offence, 
 
 Great God, ruler of nature? 
 
 Oh to rend the bonds that bind me, 
 
 Cruel, cruel God to so confine me ! 
 
 Oh to free the soul 
 
 And understand the infinite whole ! 
 
 I will! 
 
 I am I: 
 
and Other Poems 85 
 
 Son of the father, — 
 
 A God in my right — 
 
 I will not creep, crawl and pray. 
 
 The son shall be as the father : 
 
 Thy child has grown with time. 
 
 The son shall—" 
 
 Look, look! 
 He reels, 
 
 Instinct, God given instinct: 
 He throws himself 
 And gains his feet. 
 He reels again : 
 A second in the hands of law, 
 A second in the hands of God. 
 Fate, chance ! 
 
 He crashes his head against the wall 
 And rolls over dead. 
 Law, law, law, 
 All is law — 
 Be it so. 
 
 Now the sad winds blow 
 And drift the snow 
 
86 The Poisoned Lake 
 
 In a beautiful scroll 
 About his clay. 
 
 Thus ends my poem of to-day ; 
 
 Of the end 
 
 Surmise what you may. 
 
 Of him 
 
 I have naught more to say, 
 
 Except, 
 
 He was subject to the law of decay 
 
 It is the law — 
 
 Be it so. 
 
 Again I add this key, 
 
 To the thought and way 
 
 Of God or Gods — 
 
 Who knows? 
 
 Be it so! 
 
 
MMi sJ t»(w3 
 
Wilis 
 
 015 897 664 A 
 
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