172
THE EQUINOX
Hail! on the altar of the awakening day ;
Hail! in the temple of the night outworn
By the vigils of the gods! Soft, secret Rose,
I bear upon my breast the golden sign ;
I wear thee on my breast, and I am thine—
Light as the summer oak-leaves, gold as the god
On the shimmering sea calling the winds to rest.
Light, light be the earth upon thee, and below,
Breath of the world unborn, long wave of song!
Hail unto thee, and hail unto the star
That bore thee! Hail! and hail! and hail! and hail
Hail! For the word is spoken, and the light
Is fallen, and the Rose is mine, is mine!
The Rose is mine! O Rose! O secret Rose!
XVI
THE SILVER CRESCENT
In the little cleft of the rocks whence life first sprang
To birth, by the secret, shadowy, molten sea,
Where Aphrodite sprang to greet the sun,
Low voices murmur: shadowy Underworld
In the void of time, light song of Erebus
On the lips of a courtesan of Rome, ah! list!
A wandering singer caught the light o’ the stars
On his lips, and the sun-dawn of the world in his heart.
For I that dwelt within the city of Time
Was lost in a cloudy dawn; the silken veil
Of dew that clothed the green grass of the fields