@3A wild, wide land of mysteries, Of sea-salt lakes and dried up seas, And lonely wells and pools; a land That seems so like dead Palestine, Save that its wastes have no confine Till push'd against the levell'd skies. A land from out whose depths shall rise The new-time prophets. Yea, the land From out whose awful depths shall come, A lowly man, with dusty feet, A man fresh from his Maker's hand, A singer singing oversweet, A charmer charming very wise; And then all men shall not be dumb. Nay, not be dumb; for he shall say, "Take heed, for I prepare the way For weary feet." Lo! from this land Of Jordan streams and dead sea sand, The Christ shall come when next the race Of man shall look upon His face.@1 I A man in middle Aridzone Stood by the desert's edge alone, And long he look'd, and lean'd and peer'd, And twirl'd and twirl'd his twist'd beard, Beneath a black and slouchy hat -- Nay, nay, the tale is not of that. A skin-clad trapper, toe-a-tip, Stood on a mountain top; and he Look'd long, and still, and eagerly. "It looks so like some lonesome ship That sails this ghostly, lonely sea, -- This dried-up desert sea," said he, "These tawny sands of buried seas" -- Avaunt! this tale is not of these! A chief from out the desert's rim Rode swift as twilight swallows swim, And O! his supple steed was fleet! About his breast flapped panther skins, About his eager flying feet Flapp'd beaded, braided moccasins: He stopp'd, stock still, as still as stone, He lean'd, he look'd, there glisten'd bright, From out the yellow, yielding sand, A golden cup with jewell'd rim. He lean'd him low, he reach'd a hand, He caught it up, he gallop'd on, He turn'd his head, he saw a sight -- His panther-skins flew to the wind, He rode into the rim of night; The dark, the desert lay behind; The tawny Ishmaelite was gone. He reach'd the town, and there held up Above his head the jewell'd cup. He put two fingers to his lip, He whisper'd wild, he stood a-tip, And lean'd the while with lifted hand, And said, "A ship lies yonder dead," And said, "Such things lie sown in sand In yon far desert dead and brown, Beyond where wave-wash'd walls look down, As thick as stars set overhead." "'Tis from that desert ship," they said, "That sails with neither sail nor breeze The lonely bed of dried-up seas, -- A galleon that sank below White seas ere Red men drew the bow." By Arizona's sea of sand Some bearded miners, gray and old, And resolute in search of gold, Sat down to tap the savage land. A miner stood beside the mine, He pull'd his beard, then looked away Across the level sea of sand, Beneath his broad and hairy hand, A hand as hard as knots of pine. "It looks so like a sea," said he. He pull'd his beard, and he did say, "It looks just like a dried-up sea." Again he pull'd that beard of his, But said no other thing than this. A stalwart miner dealt a stroke, And struck a buried beam of oak. The miner twisted, twirl'd his beard, Lean'd on his pick-ax as he spoke: "'Tis that same long-lost ship," he said, "Some laden ship of Solomon That sail'd these lonesome seas upon In search of Ophir's mine, ah me! That sail'd this dried-up desert sea." II Now this the tale. Along the wide Missouri's stream some silent braves, That stole along the farther side Through sweeping wood that swept the waves Like long arms reach'd across the tide, Kept watch and every foe defied. A low, black boat that hugg'd the shores, An ugly boat, an ugly crew, Thick-lipp'd and woolly-headed slaves, That bow'd, and bent the white-ash oars, That cleft the murky waters through, Slow climb'd the swift Missouri's waves. A grand old Neptune in the prow, Gray-hair'd, and white with touch of time, Yet strong as in his middle prime, Stood up, turn'd suddenly, look'd back Along his low boat's wrinkled track, Then drew his mantle tight, and now He sat all silently. Beside The grim old sea-king sat his bride, A sun land blossom, rudely torn From tropic forests to be worn Above as stern a breast as e'er Stood king at sea, or anywhere. Another boat with other crew Came swift and cautious in her track, And now shot shoreward, now shot back, And now sat rocking fro and to, But never once lost sight of her. Tall, sunburnt, southern men were these From isles of blue Caribbean seas, And one, that woman's worshiper, Who look'd on her, and loved but her. And one, that one, was wild as seas That wash the far, dark Oregon. And one, that one, had eyes to teach The art of love, and tongue to preach Life's hard and sober homilies, While he stood leaning, urging on. III Pursuer and pursued. And who Are these that make the sable crew; These mighty Titans, black and nude, Who dare this Red man's solitude? And who is he that leads them here, And breaks the hush of wave and wood? Comes he for evil or for good? Brave Jesuit or bold buccaneer? Nay, these be idle themes. Let pass. These be but men. We may forget The wild sea-king, the tawny brave, The frowning wold, the woody shore, The tall-built, sunburnt man of Mars. But what and who was she, the fair? The fairest face that ever yet Look'd in a wave as in a glass; That look'd, as look the still, far stars, So woman-like, into the wave To contemplate their beauty there? I only saw her, heard the sound Of murky waters gurgling round In counter-currents from the shore, But heard the long, strong stroke of oar Against the water gray and vast; I only saw her as she pass'd -- A great, sad beauty, in whose eyes Lay all the peace of Paradise. O you had loved her sitting there, Half hidden in her loosen'd hair; Yea, loved her for her large dark eyes, Her push'd out mouth, her mute surprise -- Her mouth! 'twas Egypt's mouth of old, Push'd out and pouting full and bold With simple beauty where she sat. Why, you had said, on seeing her, This creature comes from out the dim, Far centuries, beyond the rim Of time's remotest reach or stir; And he who wrought Semiramis And shaped the Sibyls, seeing this, Had kneeled and made a shrine thereat, And all his life had worshipp'd her. IV The black men bow'd, the long oars bent, They struck as if for sweet life's sake, And one look'd back, but no man spake, And all wills bent to one intent. On, through the golden fringe of day Into the deep, dark night, away And up the wave 'mid walls of wood They cleft, they climb'd, they bow'd, they bent, But one stood tall, and restless stood, And one sat still all night, all day, And gazed in helpless wonderment. Her hair pour'd down like darkling wine, The black men lean'd a sullen line, The bent oars kept a steady song, And all the beams of bright sunshine That touch'd the waters wild and strong, Fell drifting down and out of sight Like fallen leaves, and it was night. And night and day, and many days They climb'd the sullen, dark gray tide. And she sat silent at his side, And he sat turning many ways; Sat watching for his wily foe. At last he baffled him. And yet His brow gloom'd dark, his lips were set; He lean'd, he peer'd through boughs, as though From heart of forests deep and dim Grim shapes might come confronting him. A stern, uncommon man was he, Broad-shoulder'd, as of Gothic form, Strong-built, and hoary like a sea; A high sea broken up by storm. His face was brown and over-wrought By seams and shadows born of thought, Not over-gentle. And his eyes, Bold, restless, resolute and deep, Too deep to flow like shallow fount Of common men where waters mount; -- Fierce, lumined eyes, where flames might rise Instead of flood, and flash and sweep -- Strange eyes, that look'd unsatisfied With all things fair or otherwise; As if his inmost soul had cried All time for something yet unseen, Some long-desired thing denied. V Below the overhanging boughs The oars lay idle at the last; Yet long he look'd for hostile prows From out the wood and down the stream. They came not, and he came to dream Pursuit abandon'd, danger past. He fell'd the oak, he built a home Of new-hewn wood with busy hand, And said, "My wanderings are told," And said, "No more by sea, by land, Shall I break rest, or drift, or roam, For I am worn, and I grow old." And there, beside that surging tide, Where gray waves meet, and wheel, and strike, The man sat down as satisfied To sit and rest unto the end; As if the strong man here had found A sort of brother in this sea, -- This surging, sounding majesty, Of troubled water, so profound, So sullen, strong, and lion-like, So lawless in its every round. Hast seen Missouri cleave the wood In sounding whirlpools to the sea? What soul hath known such majesty? What man stood by and understood? VI Now long the long oars idle lay. The cabin's smoke came forth and curl'd Right lazily from river brake, And Time went by the other way. And who was she, the strong man's pride, This one fair woman of his world? A captive? Bride, or not a bride? Her eyes, men say, grew sad and dim With watching from the river's rim, As waiting for some face denied. Yea, who was she? none ever knew. The great, strong river swept around The cabin nestled in its bend, But kept its secrets. Wild birds flew In bevies by. The black men found Diversion in the chase; and wide Old Morgan ranged the wood, nor friend Nor foeman ever sought his side, Or shared his forests deep and dim, Or cross'd his path or question'd him. He stood as one who found and named The middle world. What visions flamed Athwart the west! What prophecies Were his, the gray old man, that day Who stood alone and look'd away, -- Awest from out the waving trees, Against the utter sundown seas. Alone ofttime beside the stream He stood and gazed as in a dream, -- As if he knew a life unknown To those who knew him thus alone. His eyes were gray and overborne By shaggy brows, his strength was shorn, Yet still he ever gazed awest, As one that would not, could not rest. And had he fled with bloody hand? Or had he loved some Helen fair, And battling lost both land and town? Say, did he see his walls go down, Then choose from all his treasures there This one, and seek some other land? VII The squirrels chatter'd in the leaves, The turkeys call'd from pawpaw wood, The deer with lifted nostrils stood, 'Mid climbing blossoms sweet with bee, 'Neath snow-white rose of Cherokee. Then frosts hung ices on the eaves, Then cushion snows possess'd the ground, And so the seasons kept their round; Yet still old Morgan went and came From cabin door through forest dim, Through wold of snows, through wood of flame, Through golden Indian-summer days, Hung red with soft September haze, And no man cross'd or questioned him. Nay, there was that in his stern air That held e'en these rude men aloof; None came to share the broad-built roof That rose so fortress-like beside The angry, rushing, sullen tide, And only black men gather'd there, The old man's slaves in dull content, Black, silent, and obedient. Then men push'd westward through his wood, His wild beasts fled, and now he stood Confronting men. He had endear'd No man, but still he went and came Apart, and shook his beard and strode His ways alone, and bore his load, If load it were, apart, alone. Then men grew busy with a name That no man loved, that many fear'd, And rude men stoop'd, and cast a stone, As at some statue overthrown. Some said, a stolen bride was she, And that her lover from the sea Lay waiting for his chosen wife, And that a day of reckoning Lay waiting for this grizzled king. Some said that looking from her place A love would sometimes light her face, As if sweet recollections stirr'd Like far, sweet songs that come to us, So soft, so sweet, they are not heard, So far, so faint, they fill the air, A fragrance falling anywhere. So, wasting all her summer years That utter'd only through her tears, The seasons went, and still she stood Forever watching down the wood. Yet in her heart there held a strife With all this wasting of sweet life, That none who have not lived -- and died -- Held up the two hands crucified Between two ways -- can understand. Men went and came, and still she stood In silence watching down the wood -- Adown the wood beyond the land, Her hollow face upon her hand, Her black, abundant hair all down About her loose, ungather'd gown. And what her thought? her life unsaid? Was it of love? of hate? of him, The tall, dark Southerner? Her head Bow'd down. The day fell dim Upon her eyes. She bowed, she slept. She waken'd then, and waking wept. VIII The black-eyed bushy squirrels ran Like shadows scattered through the boughs; The gallant robin chirp'd his vows, The far-off pheasant thrumm'd his fan, A thousand blackbirds kept on wing In walnut-top, and it was Spring. Old Morgan sat his cabin door, And one sat watching as of yore, But why turn'd Morgan's face as white As his white beard? A bird aflight, A squirrel peering through the trees, Saw some one silent steal away Like darkness from the face of day, Saw two black eyes look back, and these Saw her hand beckon through the trees. Ay! they have come, the sun-brown'd men, To beard old Morgan in his den. It matters little who they are, These silent men from isles afar; And truly no one cares or knows What be their merit or demand; It is enough for this rude land -- At least, it is enough for those, The loud of tongue and rude of hand -- To know that they are Morgan's foes. Proud Morgan! More than tongue can tell He loved that woman watching there, That stood in her dark storm of hair, That stood and dream'd as in a spell, And look'd so fix'd and far away; And who that loveth woman well, Is wholly bad? be whom he may. IX Ay! we have seen these Southern men, These sun-browned men from island shore, In this same land, and long before. They do not seem so lithe as then, They do not look so tall, and they Seem not so many as of old. But that same resolute and bold Expression of unbridled will, That even Time must half obey, Is with them and is of them still. They do not counsel the decree Of court or council, where they drew Their breath, nor law nor order knew, Save but the strong hand of the strong; Where each stood up, avenged his wrong, Or sought his death all silently. They watch along the wave and wood, They heed, but haste not. Their estate, Whate'er it be, can bide and wait, Be it open ill or hidden good. No law for them! For they have stood With steel, and writ their rights in blood; And now, whatever 't is they seek, Whatever be their dark demand, Why, they will make it, hand to hand, Take time and patience: Greek to Greek. X Like blown and snowy wintry pine, Old Morgan stoop'd his head and pass'd Within his cabin door. He cast A great arm out to men, made sign, Then turn'd to Sybal; stood beside A time, then turn'd and strode the floor, Stopp'd short, breathed sharp, threw wide the door, Then gazed beyond the murky tide, Past where the forky peaks divide. He took his beard in his right hand, Then slowly shook his grizzled head And trembled, but no word he said. His thought was something more than pain; Upon the seas, upon the land He knew he should not rest again. He turn'd to her; and then once more Quick turn'd, and through the oaken door He sudden pointed to the west. His eye resumed its old command, The conversation of his hand It was enough; she knew the rest. He turn'd, he stoop'd, and smooth'd her hair, As if to smooth away the care From his great heart, with his left hand. His right hand hitch'd the pistol 'round That dangled at his belt. The sound Of steel to him was melody More sweet than any song of sea. He touch'd his pistol, push'd his lips, Then tapp'd it with his finger tips, And toy'd with it as harper's hand Seeks out the chords when he is sad And purposeless. At last he had Resolved. In haste he touch'd her hair, Made sign she should arise -- prepare For some long journey, then again He look'd awest toward the plain; Against the land of boundless space, The land of silences, the land Of shoreless deserts sown with sand, Where Desolation's dwelling is; The land where, wondering, you say, What dried-up shoreless sea is this? Where, wandering, from day to day You say, To-morrow sure we come To rest in some cool resting place, And yet you journey on through space While seasons pass, and are struck dumb With marvel at the distances. Yea, he would go. Go utterly Away, and from all living kind; Pierce through the distances, and find New lands. He had outlived his race. He stood like some eternal tree That tops remote Yosemite, And cannot fall. He turn'd his face Again and contemplated space. And then he raised his hand to vex His beard, stood still, and there fell down Great drops from some unfrequent spring, And streak'd his channell'd cheeks sunbrown, And ran uncheck'd, as one who recks Nor joy, nor tears, nor anything. And then, his broad breast heaving deep, Like some dark sea in troubled sleep, Blown round with groaning ships and wrecks, He sudden roused himself, and stood With all the strength of his stern mood, Then call'd his men, and bade them go And bring black steeds with banner'd necks, And strong, like burly buffalo. XI The bronzen, stolid, still, black men Their black-maned horses silent drew Through solemn wood. One midnight when The curl'd moon tipp'd her horn, and threw A black oak's shadow slant across A low mound hid in leaves and moss, Old Morgan cautious came and drew From out the ground, as from a grave, Great bags, all copper-bound and old, And fill'd, men say, with pirates' gold. And then they, silent as a dream, In long black shadow cross'd the stream. XII And all was life at morn, but one, The tall old sea-king, grim and gray, Look'd back to where his cabin lay, And seem'd to hesitate. He rose At last, as from his dream's repose, From rest that counterfeited rest, And set his blown beard to the west; And rode against the setting sun, Far up the levels vast and dun. His steeds were steady, strong and fleet, The best in all the wide west land, Their manes were in the air, their feet Seem'd scarce to touch the flying sand. They rode like men gone mad, they fled All day and many days they ran, And in the rear a gray old man Kept watch, and ever turn'd his head Half eager and half angry, back Along their dusty desert track. And she look'd back, but no man spoke, They rode, they swallowed up the plain; The sun sank low, he look'd again, With lifted hand and shaded eyes. Then far, afar, he saw uprise, As if from giant's stride or stroke, Dun dust, like puffs of battle-smoke. He turn'd, his left hand clutched the rein, He struck hard west his high right hand, His limbs were like the limbs of oak; All knew too well the man's command. On on they spurred, they plunged again, And one look'd back, but no man spoke. They climb'd the rock-built breasts of earth, The Titan-fronted, blowy steeps That cradled Time. Where freedom keeps Her flag of bright, blown stars unfurl'd, They climbed and climbed. They saw the birth Of sudden dawn upon the world; Again they gazed; they saw the face Of God, and named it boundless space. And they descended and did roam Through levell'd distances set round By room. They saw the Silences Move by and beckon; saw the forms, The very beards, of burly storms, And heard them talk like sounding seas. On unnamed heights, bleak-blown and brown, And torn-like battlements of Mars, They saw the darknesses come down, Like curtains loosen'd from the dome Of God's cathedral, built of stars. They pitch'd the tent where rivers run All foaming to the west, and rush As if to drown the falling sun. They saw the snowy mountains roll'd, And heaved along the nameless lands Like mighty billows; saw the gold Of awful sunsets; felt the hush Of heaven when the day sat down, And drew about his mantle brown, And hid his face in dusky hands. The long and lonesome nights! the tent That nestled soft in sweep of grass, The hills against the firmament Where scarce the moving moon could pass; The cautious camp, the smother'd light, The silent sentinel at night! The wild beasts howling from the hill; The savage prowling swift and still, And bended as a bow is bent. The arrow sent; the arrow spent And buried in its bloody place; The dead man lying on his face! The clouds of dust, their cloud by day; Their pillar of unfailing fire The far North Star. And high, and higher, They climb'd so high it seemed eftsoon That they must face the falling moon, That like some flame-lit ruin lay High built before their weary way. They learn'd to read the sign of storms, The moon's wide circles, sunset bars, And storm-provoking blood and flame; And, like the Chaldean shepherds, came At night to name the moving stars. In heaven's face they pictured forms Of beasts, of fishes of the sea. They watch'd the Great Bear wearily Rise up and drag his clinking chain Of stars around the starry main. XIII And why did these worn, sun-burnt men Let Morgan gain the plain, and then Pursue him ever where he fled? Some say their leader sought but her; Unlike each swarthy follower. Some say they sought his gold alone, And fear'd to make their quarrel known Lest it should keep its secret bed; Some say they thought to best prevail And conquer with united hands Alone upon the lonesome sands; Some say they had as much to dread; Some say -- but I must tell my tale. And still old Morgan sought the west; The sea, the utmost sea, and rest. He climb'd, descended, climb'd again, Until pursuit seemed all in vain; Until they left him all alone, As unpursued and as unknown, As some lost ship upon the main. O there was grandeur in his air, An old-time splendor in his eye, When he had climb'd at last the high And rock-built bastions of the plain, Thrown back his beard and blown white hair, And halting turn'd to look again. Dismounting in his lofty place, He look'd far down the fading plain For his pursuers, but in vain. Yea, he was glad. Across his face A careless smile was seen to play, The first for many a stormy day. He turn'd to Sybal, dark, yet fair As some sad twilight; touched her hair, Stoop'd low, and kiss'd her gently there, Then silent held her to his breast; Then waved command to his black men, Look'd east, then mounted slow and then Led leisurely against the west. And why should he who dared to die, Who more than once with hissing breath Had set his teeth and pray'd for death? Why fled these men, or wherefore fly Before them now? why not defy? His midnight men were strong and true, And not unused to strife, and knew The masonry of steel right well, And all such signs that lead to hell. It might have been his youth had wrought Some wrongs his years would now repair, That made him fly and still forbear; It might have been he only sought To lead them to some fatal snare, And let them die by piecemeal there. I only know it was not fear Of any man or any thing That death in any shape might bring. It might have been some lofty sense Of his own truth and innocence, And virtues lofty as severe -- Nay, nay! what room for reasons here? And now they pierced a fringe of trees That bound a mountain's brow like bay. Sweet through the fragrant boughs a breeze Blew salt-flood freshness. Far away, From mountain brow to desert base Lay chaos, space; unbounded space. The black men cried, "The sea!" They bow'd Black, woolly heads in hard black hands. They wept for joy. They laugh'd, they broke The silence of an age, and spoke Of rest at last; and, grouped in bands, They threw their long black arms about Each other's necks, and laugh'd aloud, Then wept again with laugh and shout. Yet Morgan spake no word, but led His band with oft-averted head Right through the cooling trees, till he Stood out upon the lofty brow And mighty mountain wall. And now The men who shouted, "Lo, the sea!" Rode in the sun; sad, silently, Rode in the sun, and look'd below. They look'd but once, then look'd away, Then look'd each other in the face. They could not lift their brows, nor say, But held their heads, nor spake, for lo! Nor sea, nor voice of sea, nor breath Of sea, but only sand and death, The dread mirage, the fiend of space! XIV Old Morgan eyed his men, look'd back Against the groves of tamarack, Then tapp'd his stirrup foot, and stray'd His broad left hand along the mane Of his strong steed, and careless play'd His fingers through the silken skein. And then he spurr'd him to her side, And reach'd his hand and leaning wide, He smiling push'd her falling hair Back from her brow, and kiss'd her there. Yea, touch'd her softly, as if she Had been some priceless, tender flower; Yet touched her as one taking leave Of his one love in lofty tower Before descending to the sea Of battle on his battle eve. A distant shout! quick oaths! alarms! The black men start, turn suddenly, Stand in the stirrup, clutch their arms, And bare bright arms all instantly. But he, he slowly turns, and he Looks all his full soul in her face. He does not shout, he does not say, But sits serenely in his place A time, then slowly turns, looks back Between the trim-boughed tamarack, And up the winding mountain way, To where the long, strong grasses lay, And there they came, hot on his track! He raised his glass in his two hands, Then in his left hand let it fall, Then seem'd to count his fingers o'er, Then reached his glass, waved his commands, Then tapped his stirrup as before, Stood in the stirrup stern and tall, Then ran a hand along the mane Half-nervous like, and that was all. And then he turn'd and smiled half sad, Half desperate, then hitch'd his steel; Then all his stormy presence had, As if he kept once more his keel, On pirate seas where breakers reel. At last he tossed his iron hand Above the deep, steep desert space, Above the burning seas of sand, And look'd his black men in the face. They spake not, nor look'd back again, They struck the heel, they clutched the rein, And down the darkling plunging steep They dropp'd into the dried-up deep. Below! It seem'd a league below, The black men rode, and she rode well, Against the gleaming, sheening haze That shone like some vast sea ablaze -- That seem'd to gleam, to glint, to glow, As if it mark'd the shores of hell. Then Morgan reined alone, look'd back From off the high wall where he stood, And watch'd his fierce approaching foe. He saw him creep along his track, Saw him descending from the wood, And smiled to see how worn and slow. And Morgan heard his oath and shout, And Morgan turned his head once more, And wheel'd his stout steed short about, Then seem'd to count their numbers o'er. And then his right hand touch'd his steel, And then he tapp'd his iron heel, And seemed to fight with thought. At last As if the final die was cast, And cast as carelessly as one Would toss a white coin in the sun, He touch'd his rein once more, and then His right hand laid with idle heed Along the toss'd mane of his steed. Pursuer and pursued! who knows The why he left the breezy pine, The fragrant tamarack and vine, Red rose and precious yellow rose! Nay Vasques held the vantage ground Above him by the wooded steep, And right nor left no passage lay, And there was left him but that way, -- The way through blood, or to the deep And lonesome deserts far profound, That knew not sight of man, nor sound. Hot Vasques reined upon the rim, High, bold, and fierce with crag and spire. He saw a far gray eagle swim, He saw a black hawk wheel, retire, And shun that desert's burning breath As shunning something more than death. Ah, then he paused, turn'd, shook his head. "And shall we turn aside," he said, "Or dare this Death?" The men stood still As leaning on his sterner will. And then he stopp'd and turn'd again, And held his broad hand to his brow, And look'd intent and eagerly. The far white levels of the plain Flash'd back like billows. Even now He thought he saw rise up 'mid sea, 'Mid space, 'mid wastes, 'mid nothingness A ship becalm'd as in distress. The dim sign pass'd as suddenly, And then his eager eyes grew dazed, -- He brought his two hands to his face. Again he raised his head, and gazed With flashing eyes and visage fierce Far out, and resolute to pierce The far, far, faint receding reach Of space and touch its farther beach. He saw but space, unbounded space; Eternal space and nothingness. Then all wax'd anger'd as they gazed Far out upon the shoreless land, And clench'd their doubled hands and raised Their long bare arms, but utter'd not. At last one rode from out the band, And raised his arm, push'd back his sleeve, Push'd bare his arm, rode up and down, With hat push'd back. Then flush'd and hot He shot sharp oaths like cannon shot. Then Vasques was resolved; his form Seem'd like a pine blown rampt with storm. He clutch'd his rein, drove spur, and then Turn'd sharp and savage to his men, And then led boldly down the way To night that knows not night or day. XV How broken plunged the steep descent! How barren! Desolate, and rent By earthquake's shock, the land lay dead, With dust and ashes on its head. 'Twas as some old world overthrown Where Theseus fought and Sappho dream'd In aeons ere they touch'd this land, And found their proud souls foot and hand Bound to the flesh and stung with pain. An ugly skeleton it seem'd Of its old self. The fiery rain Of red volcanoes here had sown The desolation of the plain. Ay, vanquish'd quite and overthrown, And torn with thunder-stroke, and strown With cinders, lo! the dead earth lay As waiting for the judgment day. Why, tamer men had turn'd and said, On seeing this, with start and dread, And whisper'd each with gather'd breath, "We come on the abode of death." They wound below a savage bluff That lifted, from its sea-mark'd base, Great walls with characters cut rough And deep by some long-perish'd race; And great, strange beasts unnamed, unknown, Stood hewn and limn'd upon the stone. A mournful land as land can be Beneath their feet in ashes lay, Beside that dread and dried-up sea; A city older than that gray And sand sown tower builded when Confusion cursed the tongues of men. Beneath, before, a city lay That in her majesty had shamed The wolf-nursed conqueror of old; Below, before, and far away, There reach'd the white arm of a bay, A broad bay shrunk to sand and stone, Where ships had rode and breakers roll'd When Babylon was yet unnamed, And Nimrod's hunting-fields unknown. Where sceptered kings had sat at feast, Some serpents slid from out the grass That grew in tufts by shatter'd stone, Then hid beneath some broken mass That time had eaten as a bone Is eaten by some savage beast. A dull-eyed rattlesnake that lay All loathsome, yellow-skinn'd, and slept Coil'd tight as pine-knot, in the sun, With flat head through the center run, Struck blindly back, then rattling crept Flat-bellied down the dusty way. . . 'Twas all the dead land had to say. Two pink-eyed hawks, wide-wing'd and gray, Scream'd savagely, and, circling high, And screaming still in mad dismay, Grew dim and died against the sky. . . 'Twas all the heavens had to say. Some low-built junipers at last, The last that o'er the desert look'd, Where dumb owls sat with bent bills hook'd Beneath their wings awaiting night, Rose up, then faded from the sight. What dim ghosts hover on this rim: What stately-manner'd shadows swim Along these gleaming wastes of sands And shoreless limits of dead lands? Dread Azteckee! Dead Azteckee! White place of ghosts, give up thy dead; Give back to Time thy buried hosts! The new world's tawny Ishmaelite, The roving tent-born Shoshonee, Hath shunned thy shores of death, at night Because thou art so white, so dread, Because thou art so ghostly white, And named thy shores "the place of ghosts." Thy white, uncertain sands are white With bones of thy unburied dead, That will not perish from the sight. They drown, but perish not -- ah me! What dread unsightly sights are spread Along this lonesome, dried-up sea? Old, hoar, and dried-up sea! so old So strown with wealth, so sown with gold! Yea, thou art old and hoary white With time, and ruin of all things; And on thy lonesome borders Night Sits brooding as with wounded wings. The winds that toss'd thy waves and blew Across thy breast the blowing sail, And cheer'd the hearts of cheering crew From farther seas, no more prevail. Thy white-wall'd cities all lie prone, With but a pyramid, a stone, Set head and foot in sands to tell The thirsting stranger where they fell. The patient ox that bended low His neck, and drew slow up and down Thy thousand freights through rock-built town Is now the free-born buffalo. No longer of the timid fold, The mountain ram leaps free and bold His high-built summit, and looks down From battlements of buried town. Thine ancient steeds know not the rein; They lord the land; they come, they go At will; they laugh at man; they blow A cloud of black steeds o'er the plain. The winds, the waves, have drawn away -- The very wild man dreads to stay. XVI Away! upon the sandy seas The gleaming, burning, boundless plain; How solemn-like, how still, as when That mighty minded Genoese Drew three slim ships and led his men From land they might not meet again. The black men rode in front by two, The fair one follow'd close, and kept Her face held down as if she wept; But Morgan kept the rear, and threw His flowing, swaying beard still back In watch along their lonesome track. The weary Day fell down to rest, A star upon his mantled breast, Ere scarce the sun fell out of space, And Venus glimmer'd in his place. Yea, all the stars shone just as fair, And constellations kept their round, And look'd from out the great profound, And march'd, and countermarch'd, and shone Upon that desolation there -- Why, just the same as if proud man Strode up and down array'd in gold And purple as in days of old, And reckon'd all of his own plan, Or made at least for man alone. Yet on push'd Morgan silently, And straight as strong ship on a sea; And ever as he rode there lay -- To right, to left, and in his way, Strange objects looming in the dark, Some like tall mast, or ark, or bark. And things half-hidden in the sand Lay down before them where they pass'd -- A broken beam, half-buried mast, A spar or bar, such as might be Blown crosswise, tumbled on the strand Of some sail-crowded, stormy sea. All night by moon, by morning star, The still, black men still kept their way; All night till morn, till burning day Hard Vasques follow'd fast and far. The sun is high, the sands are hot To touch, and all the tawny plain Sinks white and open as they tread And trudge, with half-averted head, As if to swallow them in sand. They look, as men look back to land When standing out to stormy sea, But still keep pace and murmur not; Keep stern and still as destiny. It was a sight! A slim dog slid White-mouth'd and still along the sand, The pleading picture of distress. He stopp'd, leap'd up to lick a hand, A hard, black hand that sudden chid Him back, and check'd his tenderness. Then when the black man turn'd his head, His poor, mute friend had fallen dead. The very air hung white with heat, And white, and fair, and far away A lifted, shining snow-shaft lay As if to mock their mad retreat. The white, salt sands beneath their feet Did make the black men loom as grand, From out the lifting, heaving heat, As they rode sternly on and on, As any bronze men in the land That sit their statue steeds upon. The men were silent as men dead. The sun hung centered overhead, Nor seem'd to move. It molten hung Like some great central burner swung From lofty beams with golden bars In sacristy set round with stars. Why, flame could hardly be more hot; Yet on the mad pursuer came Across the gleaming, yielding ground, Right on, as if he fed on flame, Right on until the mid-day found The man within a pistol-shot. He hail'd, but Morgan answered not; He hail'd, then came a feeble shot, And strangely, in that vastness there, It seem'd to scarcely fret the air, But fell down harmless anywhere. He fiercely hail'd; and then there fell A horse. And then a man fell down, And in the sea-sand seem'd to drown. Then Vasques cursed, but scarce could tell The sound of his own voice, and all In mad confusion seem'd to fall. Yet on pushed Morgan, silent on, And as he rode, he lean'd and drew From his catenas gold, and threw The bright coins in the glaring sun. But Vasques did not heed a whit, He scarcely deign'd to scowl at it. Again lean'd Morgan. He uprose, And held a high hand to his foes, And held two goblets up, and one Did shine as if itself a sun. Then leaning backward from his place, He hurl'd them in his foeman's face; Then drew again, and so kept on, Till goblets, gold, and all were gone. Yea, strew'd all out upon the sands As men upon a frosty morn, In Mississippi's fertile lands, Hurl out great yellow ears of corn, To hungry swine with hurried hands. Yet still hot Vasques urges on, With flashing eye and flushing cheek. What would he have? what does he seek? He does not heed the gold a whit, He does not deign to look at it; But now his gleaming steel is drawn, And now he leans, would hail again, -- He opes his swollen lips in vain. But look you! See! A lifted hand, And Vasques beckons his command. He cannot speak, he leans, and he Bends low upon his saddle-bow. And now his blade drops to his knee, And now he falters, now comes on, And now his head is bended low; And now his rein, his steel, is gone; Now faint as any child is he; And now his steed sinks to the knee. The sun hung molten in mid-space, Like some great star fix'd in its place. From out the gleaming spaces rose A sheen of gossamer and danced, As Morgan slow and still advanced Before his far-receding foes. Right on, and on, the still, black line Drove straight through gleaming sand and shine, By spar and beam and mast, and stray And waif of sea and cast-away. The far peaks faded from their sight, The mountain walls fell down like night, And nothing now was to be seen Except the dim sun hung in sheen Of gory garments all blood-red, -- The hell beneath, the hell o'erhead. A black man tumbled from his steed. He clutch'd in death the moving sands, He caught the hot earth in his hands, He gripp'd it, held it hard and grim -- The great, sad mother did not heed His hold, but pass'd right on from him. XVII The sun seem'd broken loose at last. And settled slowly to the west, Half-hidden as he fell to rest, Yet, like the flying Parthian, cast His keenest arrows as he pass'd. On, on, the black men slowly drew Their length like some great serpent through The sands, and left a hollow'd groove: They moved, they scarcely seem'd to move. How patient in their muffled tread! How like the dead march of the dead! At last the slow, black line was check'd, An instant only; now again It moved, it falter'd now, and now It settled in its sandy bed, And steeds stood rooted to the plain. Then all stood still, and men somehow Look'd down and with averted head, Look'd down, nor dared look up, nor reck'd Of anything, of ill or good, But bow'd and stricken still, they stood. Like some brave band that dared the fierce And bristled steel of gather'd host, These daring men had dared to pierce This awful vastness, dead and gray. And now at last brought well at bay They stood, -- but each stood to his post. Then one dismounted, waved a hand, 'Twas Morgan's stern and still command. There fell a clank, like loosen'd chain, As men dismounting loosed the rein. Then every steed stood loosed and free; And some stepp'd slow and mute aside, And some sank to the sands and died; And some stood still as shadows be. Old Morgan turn'd and raised his hand And laid it level with his eyes, And looked far back along the land. He saw a dark dust still uprise, Still surely tend to where he lay. He did not curse, he did not say -- He did not even look surprise. Nay, he was over-gentle now; He wiped a time his Titan brow, Then sought dark Sybal in her place, Put out his arms, put down his face And look'd in hers. She reach'd her hands, She lean'd, she fell upon his breast; He reach'd his arms around; she lay As lies a bird in leafy nest. And he look'd out across the sands And bearing her, he strode away. Some black men settled down to rest, But none made murmur or request. The dead were dead, and that were best; The living, leaning, follow'd him, A long dark line, a shadow dim. The day through high mid-heaven rode Across the sky, the dim, red day; And on, the war-like day-god strode With shoulder'd shield away, away. The savage, warlike day bent low, As reapers bend in gathering grain, As archer bending bends yew bow, And flush'd and fretted as in pain. Then down his shoulder slid his shield, So huge, so awful, so blood-red And batter'd as from battle-field: It settled, sunk to his left hand, Sunk down and down, it touch'd the sand; Then day along the land lay dead, Without one candle, foot or head. And now the moon wheel'd white and vast, A round, unbroken, marbled moon, And touch'd the far, bright buttes of snow, Then climb'd their shoulders over soon; And there she seem'd to sit at last, To hang, to hover there, to grow, Grow grander than vast peaks of snow. She sat the battlements of time; She shone in mail of frost and rime A time, and then rose up and stood In heaven in sad widowhood. The faded moon fell wearily, And then the sun right suddenly Rose up full arm'd, and rushing came Across the land like flood of flame. And now it seemed that hills uprose, High push'd against the arching skies, As if to meet the sudden sun -- Rose sharp from out the sultry dun, And seem'd to hold the free repose Of lands where flow'ry summits rise, In unfenced fields of Paradise. The black men look'd up from the sands Against the dim, uncertain skies, As men that disbelieved their eyes, And would have laugh'd; they wept instead, With shoulders heaved, with bowing head Hid down between the two black hands. They stood and gazed. Lo! like the call Of spring-time promises, the trees Lean'd from their lifted mountain wall, And stood clear cut against the skies, As if they grew in pistol-shot; Yet all the mountains answer'd not And yet there came no cooling breeze, Nor soothing sense of wind-wet trees. At last old Morgan, looking through His shaded fingers, let them go, And let his load fall down as dead. He groan'd, he clutch'd his beard of snow As was his wont, then bowing low, Took up his life, and moaning said, "Lord Christ! 'tis the mirage, and we Stand blinded in a burning sea." XVIII Again they move, but where or how It recks them little, nothing now. Yet Morgan leads them as before, But totters now; he bends, and he Is like a broken ship a-sea, -- A ship that knows not any shore, Nor rudder, nor shall anchor more. Some leaning shadows crooning crept Through desolation, crown'd in dust. And had the mad pursuer kept His path, and cherish'd his pursuit? There lay no choice. Advance, he must: Advance, and eat his ashen fruit. Again the still moon rose and stood Above the dim, dark belt of wood, Above the buttes, above the snow, And bent a sad, sweet face below. She reach'd along the level plain Her long, white fingers. Then again She reach'd, she touch'd the snowy sands. Then reach'd far out until she touch'd A heap that lay with doubled hands, Reach'd from its sable self, and clutch'd With patient death. O tenderly That black, that dead and hollow face Was kiss'd that night. . . . What if I say The long, white moonbeams reaching there, Caressing idle hands of clay, And resting on the wrinkled hair And great lips push'd in sullen pout, Were God's own fingers reaching out From heaven to that lonesome place? XIX By waif and stray and cast-away, Such as are seen in seas withdrawn, Old Morgan led in silence on; And sometimes lifting up his head, To guide his footsteps as he led, He deem'd he saw a great ship lay Her keel along the sea-wash'd sand, As with her captain's old command. The stars were seal'd; and then a haze Of gossamer fill'd all the west, So like in Indian summer days, And veil'd all things. And then the moon Grew pale and faint, and far. She died, And now nor star nor any sign Fell out of heaven. Oversoon A black man fell. Then at his side Some one sat down to watch, to rest -- To rest, to watch, or what you will, The man sits resting, watching still. XX The day glared through the eastern rim Of rocky peaks, as prison bars, With light as dim as distant stars. The sultry sunbeams filter'd down Through misty phantoms weird and dim, Through shifting shapes bat-wing'd and brown. Like some vast ruin wrapp'd in flame The sun fell down before them now. Behind them wheel'd white peaks of snow, As they proceeded. Gray and grim And awful objects went and came Before them all. They pierced at last The desert's middle depths, and lo! There loom'd from out the desert vast A lonely ship, well-built and trim, And perfect all in hull and mast. No storm had stain'd it any whit, No seasons set their teeth in it. Her masts were white as ghosts, and tall; Her decks were as of yesterday. The rains, the elements, and all The moving things that bring decay By fair green lands or fairer seas, Had touch'd not here for centuries. Lo! date had lost all reckoning, And time had long forgotten all In this lost land, and no new thing Or old could anywise befall, For Time went by the other way. What dreams of gold or conquest drew The oak-built sea-king to these seas, Ere earth, old earth, unsatisfied, Rose up and shook man in disgust From off her wearied breast, and threw His high-built cities down, and dried These unnamed ship-sown seas to dust? Who trod these decks? What captain knew The straits that led to lands like these? Blew south-sea breeze or north-sea breeze? What spiced-winds whistled through this sail? What banners stream'd above these seas? And what strange seaman answer'd back To other sea-king's beck and hail, That blew across his foamy track? Sought Jason here the golden fleece? Came Trojan ship or ships of Greece? Came decks dark-mann'd from sultry Ind, Woo'd here by spacious wooing wind? So like a grand, sweet woman, when A great love moves her soul to men? Came here strong ships of Solomon In quest of Ophir by Cathay?. . . Sit down and dream of seas withdrawn, And every sea-breath drawn away. Sit down, sit down! What is the good That we go on still fashioning Great iron ships or walls of wood, High masts of oak, or anything? Lo! all things moving must go by. The seas lie dead. Behold, this land Sits desolate in dust beside His snow-white, seamless shroud of sand; The very clouds have wept and died, And only God is in the sky. XXI The sands lay heaved, as heaved by waves, As fashioned in a thousand graves: And wrecks of storm blown here and there, And dead men scatter'd everywhere; And strangely clad they seem'd to be Just as they sank in that dread sea. The mermaid with her golden hair Had clung about a wreck's beam there, And sung her song of sweet despair The time she saw the seas withdrawn And all her pride and glory gone: Had sung her melancholy dirge Above the last receding surge, And, looking down the rippled tide, Had sung, and with her song had died. The monsters of the sea lay bound In strange contortions. Coil'd around A mast half heaved above the sand The great sea-serpent's folds were found, As solid as ship's iron band; And basking in the burning sun There rose the great whale's skeleton. A thousand sea things stretch'd across Their weary and bewilder'd way: Great unnamed monsters wrinkled lay With sunken eyes and shrunken form. The strong sea-horse that rode the storm With mane as light and white as floss, Lay tangled in his mane of moss. And anchor, hull, and cast-away, And all things that the miser deep Doth in his darkling locker keep, To right and left around them lay. Yea, golden coin and golden cup, And golden cruse, and golden plate, And all that great seas swallow up, Right in their dreadful pathway lay. The hoary sea made white with time, And wrinkled cross with many a crime, With all his treasured thefts lay there, His sins, his very soul laid bare, As if it were the Judgment Day. XXII And now the tawny night fell soon, And there was neither star nor moon; And yet it seem'd it was not night. There fell a phosphorescent light, There rose from white sands and dead men A soft light, white and strange as when The Spirit of Jehovah moved Upon the water's conscious face, And made it His abiding place. Remote, around the lonesome ship, Old Morgan moved, but knew it not, For neither star nor moon fell down. . . . I trow that was a lonesome spot He found, where boat and ship did dip In sands like some half-sunken town. At last before the leader lay A form that in the night did seem A slain Goliath. As in a dream, He drew aside in his slow pace, And look'd. He saw a sable face! A friend that fell that very day, Thrown straight across his wearied way. He falter'd now. His iron heart, That never yet refused its part, Began to fail him; and his strength Shook at his knees, as shakes the wind A shatter'd ship. His shatter'd mind Ranged up and down the land. At length He turn'd, as ships turn, tempest toss'd, For now he knew that he was lost! He sought in vain the moon, the stars, In vain the battle-star of Mars. Again he moved. And now again He paused, he peer'd along the plain, Another form before him lay. He stood, and statue-white he stood, He trembled like a stormy wood, -- It was a foeman brawn and gray. He lifted up his head again, Again he search'd the great profound For moon, for star, but sought in vain. He kept his circle round and round The great ship lifting from the sand, And pointing heavenward like a hand. And still he crept along the plain, Yet where his foeman dead again Lay in his way he moved around, And soft as if on sacred ground, And did not touch him anywhere. It might have been he had a dread, In his half-crazed and fever'd brain, His fallen foe might rise again If he should dare to touch him there. He circled round the lonesome ship Like some wild beast within a wall, That keeps his paces round and round. The very stillness had a sound; He saw strange somethings rise and dip; He felt the weirdness like a pall Come down and cover him. It seem'd To take a form, take many forms, To talk to him, to reach out arms; Yet on he kept, and silent kept, And as he lead he lean'd and slept, And as he slept he talk'd and dream'd. Two shadows follow'd, stopp'd, and stood Bewilder'd, wander'd back again, Came on and then fell to the sand, And sinking died. Then other men Did wag their woolly heads and laugh, Then bend their necks and seem to quaff Of cooling waves that careless flow Where woods and long, strong grasses grow. Yet on wound Morgan, leaning low, With her upon his breast, and slow As hand upon a dial plate. He did not turn his course or quail, He did not falter, did not fail, Turn right or left or hesitate. Some far-off sounds had lost their way, And seem'd to call to him and pray For help, as if they were affright. It was not day, it seem'd not night, But that dim land that lies between The mournful, faithful face of night, And loud and gold-bedazzled day; A night that was not felt but seen. There seem'd not now the ghost of sound, He stepp'd as soft as step the dead; Yet on he lead in solemn tread, Bewilder'd, blinded, round and round, About the great black ship that rose Tall-masted as that ship that blows Her ghost below lost Panama, -- The tallest mast man ever saw. Two leaning shadows follow'd him: Their eyes were red, their teeth shone white, Their limbs did lift as shadows swim. Then one went left and one went right, And in the night pass'd out of sight; Pass'd through the portals black, unknown, And Morgan totter'd on alone. And why he still survived the rest, Why still he had the strength to stir, Why still he stood like gnarled oak That buffets storm and tempest stroke, One cannot say, save but for her, That helpless being on his breast. She did not speak, she did not stir; In rippled currents over her, Her black, abundant hair pour'd down Like mantle or some sable gown. That sad, sweet dreamer; she who knew Not anything of earth at all. Nor cared to know its bane or bliss; That dove that did not touch the land, That knew, yet did not understand. And this may be because she drew Her all of life right from the hand Of God, and did not choose to learn The things that make up man's concern. Ah! there be souls none understand; Like clouds, they cannot touch the land. Unanchored ships, they blow and blow, Sail to and fro, and then go down In unknown seas that none shall know, Without one ripple of renown. Call these not fools; the test of worth Is not the hold you have of earth. Ay, there be gentlest souls sea-blown That know not any harbor known. Now it may be the reason is, They touch on fairer shores than this. At last he touch'd fallen group, Dead fellows tumbled in the sands, Dead foemen, gather'd to their dead. And eager now the man did stoop, Lay down his load and reach his hands, And stretch his form and look steadfast And frightful, and as one aghast. He lean'd, and then he raised his head, And look'd for Vasques, but in vain He peer'd along the deadly plain. Now, from the night another face, The last that follow'd through the deep, Comes on, falls dead within a pace. Yet Vasques still survives! But where? His last bold follower lies there, Thrown straight across old Morgan's track, As if to check him, bid him back. He stands, he does not dare to stir, He watches by his charge asleep, He fears for her: but only her. The man who ever mock'd at death, He only dares to draw his breath. XXIII Beyond, and still as black despair, A man rose up, stood dark and tall, Stretch'd out his neck, reach'd forth, let fall Dark oaths, and Death stood waiting there. A tawny dead man stretch'd between, And Vasques set his foot thereon. The stars were seal'd, the moon was gone, The very darkness cast a shade. The scene was rather heard than seen, The rattle of a single blade. . . . A right foot rested on the dead, A black hand reach'd and clutch'd a beard, Then neither pray'd, nor dream'd of hope. A fierce face reach'd, a black face peer'd. . . . No bat went whirling overhead, No star fell out of Ethiope. The dead man lay between them there, The two men glared as tigers glare, -- The black man held him by the beard. He wound his hand, he held him fast, And tighter held, as if he fear'd The man might 'scape him at the last. Whiles Morgan did not speak or stir, But stood in silent watch with her. Not long. . . . A light blade lifted, thrust, A blade that leapt and swept about, So wizard-like, like wand in spell, So like a serpent's tongue thrust out. . . . Thrust twice, thrust thrice, thrust as he fell, Thrust through until it touched the dust. Yet ever as he thrust and smote, A black hand like an iron band Did tighten round a gasping throat. He fell, but did not loose his hand; The two lay dead upon the sand. Lo! up and from the fallen forms Two ghosts came, dark as gathered storms; Two gray ghosts stood, then looking back; With hands all empty, and hands clutch'd, Strode on in silence. Then they touch'd, Along the lonesome, chartless track, Where dim Plutonian darkness fell, Then touch'd the outer rim of hell; And looking back their great despair Sat sadly down, as resting there. XXIV As if there was a strength in death The battle seem'd to nerve the man To superhuman strength. He rose, Held up his head, began to scan The heavens and to take his breath Right strong and lustily. He now Resumed his part, and with his eye Fix'd on a star that filter'd through The farther west, push'd bare his brow, And kept his course with head held high, As if he strode his deck and drew His keel below some lofty light That watch'd the rocky reef at night. How lone he was, how patient she Upon that lonesome sandy sea! It were a sad, unpleasant sight To follow them through all the night, Until the time they lifted hand, And touch'd at last a water'd land. The turkeys walk'd the tangled grass, And scarcely turn'd to let them pass. There was no sign of man, nor sign Of savage beast. 'Twas so divine, It seem'd as if the bended skies Were rounded for this Paradise. The large-eyed antelope came down From off their windy hills, and blew Their whistles as they wander'd through The open groves of water'd wood; They came as light as if on wing, And reached their noses wet and brown And stamp'd their little feet and stood Close up before them, wondering. What if this were that Eden old, They found in this heart of the new And unnamed westmost world of gold, Where date and history had birth, And man began first wandering To go the girdle of the earth, And find the beautiful and true? It lies a little isle mid land, An island in a sea of sand; With reedy waters and the balm Of an eternal summer air; Some blowy pines toss here and there; And there are grasses long and strong, And tropic fruits that never fail: The Manzanita pulp, the palm, The prickly pear, with all the song Of summer birds. And there the quail Makes nest, and you may hear her call All day from out the chaparral. A land where white man never trod, And Morgan seems some demi-god, That haunts the red man's spirit land. A land where never red man's hand Is lifted up in strife at all, But holds it sacred unto those Who bravely fell before their foes, And rarely dares its desert wall. Here breaks nor sound of strife nor sign; Rare times a chieftain comes this way, Alone, and battle-scarr'd and gray, And then he bends devout before The maid who keeps the cabin-door, And deems her something all divine. Within the island's heart 'tis said, Tall trees are bending down with bread, And that a fountain pure as Truth, And deep and mossy-bound and fair, Is bubbling from the forest there, -- Perchance the fabled fount of youth! An isle where skies are ever fair, Where men keep never date nor day, Where Time has thrown his glass away. This isle is all their own. No more The flight by day, the watch by night. Dark Sybal twines about the door The scarlet blooms, the blossoms white And winds red berries in her hair, And never knows the name of care. She has a thousand birds; they blow In rainbow clouds, in clouds of snow; The birds take berries from her hand; They come and go at her command. She has a thousand pretty birds, That sing her summer songs all day; Small, black-hoof'd antelope in herds, And squirrels bushy-tail'd and gray, With round and sparkling eyes of pink, And cunning-faced as you can think. She has a thousand busy birds: And is she happy in her isle, With all her feather'd friends and herds? For when has Morgan seen her smile? She has a thousand cunning birds, They would build nestings in her hair, She has brown antelope in herds; She never knows the name of care; Why, then, is she not happy there? All patiently she bears her part; She has a thousand birdlings there, These birds they would build in her hair; But not one bird builds in her heart. She has a thousand birds; yet she Would give ten thousand cheerfully, All bright of plume and clear of tongue, And sweet as ever trilled or sung, For one small flutter'd bird to come And build within her heart, though dumb. She has a thousand birds; yet one Is lost, and, lo! she is undone. She sighs sometimes. She looks away, And yet she does not weep or say. |