The Equinox (Volume I, Number IX)

JOANNA. THE SHIP Oh then, beneath the vaulted Dome be our priest exalted ! [The two women and the warders lift the corpse, and stand it against the tree, its arms extended on the boughs. JOANNA. Jui. JOANNA. JULIA. Now be ye witnesses of truth! Here let love’s lust yield youth! Uncover, uncover the face of our lover! He sleeps, but the woe of the winter is over! With tears let us water the root of the tree! With laughter be bold to awaken the stem! Thy darling, thy daughter is calling to thee! Thy warders uphold thee, make answer to them! Let the bud thrill with blood. Let the force of the flood Of the sap thereof lap every anther unseen! Let the shower of our power bring rebirth to the flower, And the one light of sunlight break scarlet and green! Alas, he does not stir! Sorrowful, sinister Is this day’s name, The hour of shame! Behold! Behold! Rose breaks, and gold! [Dawn breaks in the wood. And see the cold white pall Funereal fall ! [The wrappings fall from the corpse, and the youth John is seen beardless and smiling. He is dressed in the crown and robes of his father. 75