I have felt darkness lead me by the hand Over the hill to greet the singing dawn; Have watched neat clouds garmenting heaven's land, Flecking the sky like ladies on a lawn; Bought pearls in the mart and rare white laces Made by the harlot for the virgin's waist; I have seen cities, deserts; kissed dim faces; Dreamed in old temples; known the sea's harsh taste. And from the depths of coffered memory I give you these -- passions of little men, Knowing at last the untold part of me Like an old song heard once and lost, and then A wizened countenance, forgetting pain; A light, a twisted thought, a shattered brain. |