Orpheus

Manifold, mighty, monstrous, no light giving Unto the soul that is not also light ;— We rise in ghastly power ; we know the token, The speech of silence and the song unspoken. ORPHEUS Come forth to the sound, Ye lustres of years That hide in profound Abysses of fears, Hidden and bound! The voice of tears Implores and impels ye, O lustres, with a tune that is strong as a seer’s. THE LUSTRES Fivefold the shape sublime that lifts its head Uniform, self-repeating, comparable At last to a man’s life: twice seven times dead Ere the light flickers in that citadel, Or the great whiteness lure his soul instead Of many-coloured earth: ere the strong spell Fail, and the Fates with iron-shapen shears Cut the frail silver, hide him from the years. Fivefold: the year that is in darkness hidden, Being beginning: then the moving year, All change and tumult ; then the quiet unchidden Of deep reflection; then the gladdening tear 86