Household Gods

Crassus. Starless and moonless, hidden in cloud, The night's one flame of pearl. Axrcia. The bat flaps; the owl hoots aloud. Crassus. Lead on; I trust you, girl. Atrcia. You are bold to trust me; of, have you divined ‘My secret? Crassus. No; the erystal of your mind Shows only faint disturbing images, Things passing strange, as if enchanted seas Kept their great swell upon it, and strange fish Played in its oily depths. Some monstrous wish, ‘The shadow of some unspeakable desire, Strikes my heart cold, and sets my brain on fire. Aurcra. Learn this, as we pass through the portico: Fear nothing; there is nothing you can know! And by these terraces and steps that gleam Wintry, although the summer night is hot, This—what we seek is never what we find! 16