Above soul, spirit, heart, thought, being, mind, 
All—but most irrevocably entwined  
And irrevocably alone. 
 
 
XVI 
 
HERE was a boy with O !  the face of dawn, 
  The mother-of-pearl that shimmered on his skin, 
The breasts like golden roses circling red, 
The limbs like limbs of a young fawn 
For litheness—O !  for innocence of sin 
His eyes burned wondrous bright, his sun-crowned head 
Danced with its sweet and sacred hopes,  
So that he paced the enamelled slopes 
Laughing upon the laughing lake below, 
Expectant of some strange experience 
Worth all the woes of sense, 
Some drop of nectar worth a world of wine, 
Some grace of One divine 
Worth more than all life’s grace, and more than life 
Intense, 
Was there a wonder if the silken boy 
Found her a-playing on the bluebell marge 
And drank from golden vats the wine of joy ; 
Hot, eager, overcoming in her breath, 
As she would draw him to those large 
And firm white breasts and mix her liquid life 
With his in pagan strife ? 
16 
T