Orpheus

When the bands of earth are broken ' As the spirit’s spell is spoken On the vast and barren places Where the unburied wander still ; As the laughter of young faces ; As the Word that is the will; As the life of wells and fountains, Of the old deep-seated mountains; As the forest’s desolate sighing; As the moaning of the earth Where her seeds are black and dying; As the earthquake’s sudden birth; As the vast volcano rending Its own breasts; as music blending With young maiden’s loving laughter, With the joy of fatherhood, With the cry of Mznads after Sacrifice by well or wood ; As the grave religious throng Moving silently along, Leading heifers, snowy-footed, Into glades and sacred groves, Where the altar-stone is suited To commemorate the Loves; As the choir’s most seemly chanting; As the women’s whispers haunting Silent woods, or chaster spaces, Where the river’s water wends; As the sound, when the white faces Burn from space, and all earth ends 30