The maiden rose-smile faint,

But through the blessed darkness
She gleamed, his friendly saint.

The comrade, white, immortal,
His bride, and more than bride --

The citizen, the sage of mind,
For whom he lived and died.

V. The Encyclopaedia
"If I could set the moon upon

This table," said my friend,
"Among the standard poets

And brochures without end,
And noble prints of old Japan,

How empty they would seem,
By that encyclopaedia

Of whim and glittering dream."
VI. What the Miner in the Desert Said

The moon's a brass-hooped water-keg,
A wondrous water-feast.

If I could climb the ridge and drink
And give drink to my beast;

If I could drain that keg, the flies
Would not be biting so,

My burning feet be spry again,
My mule no longer slow.

And I could rise and dig for ore,
And reach my fatherland,

And not be food for ants and hawks
And perish in the sand.

VII. What the Coal-heaver Said
The moon's an open furnace door

Where all can see the blast,
We shovel in our blackest griefs,

Upon that grate are cast
Our aching burdens, loves and fears

And underneath them wait
Paper and tar and pitch and pine

Called strife and blood and hate.
Out of it all there comes a flame,

A splendid widening light.
Sorrow is turned to mystery

And Death into delight.
VIII. What the Moon Saw

Two statesmen met by moonlight.
Their ease was partly feigned.

They glanced about the prairie.
Their faces were constrained.

In various ways aforetime
They had misled the state,

Yet did it so politely
Their henchmen thought them great.

They sat beneath a hedge and spake
No word, but had a smoke.

A satchel passed from hand to hand.
Next day, the deadlock broke.

IX. What Semiramis Said
The moon's a steaming chalice

Of honey and venom-wine.
A little of it sipped by night

Makes the long hours divine.
But oh, my reckless lovers,

They drain the cup and wail,
Die at my feet with shaking limbs

And tender lips all pale.
Above them in the sky it bends

Empty and gray and dread.
To-morrow night 'tis full again,

Golden, and foaming red.
X. What the Ghost of the Gambler Said

Where now the huts are empty,
Where never a camp-fire glows,

In an abandoned canyon,
A Gambler's Ghost arose.

He muttered there, "The moon's a sack
Of dust." His voice rose thin:

"I wish I knew the miner-man.
I'd play, and play to win.

In every game in Cripple-creek
Of old, when stakes were high,

I held my own. Now I would play
For that sack in the sky.

The sport would not be ended there.
'Twould rather be begun.

I'd bet my moon against his stars,
And gamble for the sun."

XI. The Spice-tree
This is the song

The spice-tree sings:
"Hunger and fire,

Hunger and fire,
Sky-born Beauty --

Spice of desire,"
Under the spice-tree

Watch and wait,
Burning maidens

And lads that mate.
The spice-tree spreads

And its boughs come down
Shadowing village and farm and town.

And none can see
But the pure of heart

The great green leaves
And the boughs descending,

And hear the song that is never ending.
The deep roots whisper,

The branches say: --
"Love to-morrow,

And love to-day,
And till Heaven's day,

And till Heaven's day."
The moon is a bird's nest in its branches,

The moon is hung in its topmost spaces.
And there, to-night, two doves play house

While lovers watch with uplifted faces.
Two doves go home

To their nest, the moon.
It is woven of twigs of broken light,

With threads of scarlet and threads of gray
And a lining of down for silk delight.

To their Eden, the moon, fly home our doves,
Up through the boughs of the great spice-tree; --

And one is the kiss I took from you,
And one is the kiss you gave to me.

XII. The Scissors-grinder
(What the Tramp Said)

The old man had his box and wheel
For grinding knives and shears.

No doubt his bell in village streets
Was joy to children's ears.

And I bethought me of my youth
When such men came around,

And times I asked them in, quite sure
The scissors should be ground.

The old man turned and spoke to me,
His face at last in view.

And then I thought those curious eyes
Were eyes that once I knew.

"The moon is but an emery-wheel
To whet the sword of God,"

He said. "And here beside my fire
I stretch upon the sod

Each night, and dream, and watch the stars
And watch the ghost-clouds go.

And see that sword of God in Heaven
A-waving to and fro.

I see that sword each century, friend.
It means the world-war comes

With all its bloody, wicked chiefs
And hate-inflaming drums.

Men talk of peace, but I have seen
That emery-wheel turn round.

The voice of Abel cries again
To God from out the ground.

The ditches must flow red, the plague
Go stark and screaming by

Each time that sword of God takes edge
Within the midnight sky.

And those that scorned their brothers here
And sowed a wind of shame

Will reap the whirlwind as of old
And face relentless flame."

And thus the scissors-grinder spoke,
His face at last in view.

*And there beside the railroad bridge
I saw the wandering Jew*.

XIII. My Lady in her White Silk Shawl
My lady in her white silk shawl

Is like a lily dim,
Within the twilight of the room

Enthroned and kind and prim.
My lady! Pale gold is her hair.

Until she smiles her face
Is pale with far Hellenic moods,

With thoughts that find no place
In our harsh village of the West

Wherein she lives of late,
She's distant as far-hidden stars,

And cold -- (almost!) -- as fate.
But when she smiles she's here again

Rosy with comrade-cheer,
A Puritan Bacchante made

To laugh around the year.
The merry gentle moon herself,

Heart-stirring too, like her,
Wakening wild and innocent love

In every worshipper.
XIV. Aladdin and the Jinn

"Bring me soft song," said Aladdin.
"This tailor-shop sings not at all.

Chant me a word of the twilight,
Of roses that mourn in the fall.

Bring me a song like hashish
That will comfort the stale and the sad,

For I would be mending my spirit,
Forgetting these days that are bad,

Forgetting companions too shallow,
Their quarrels and arguments thin,

Forgetting the shouting Muezzin:" --
"I AM YOUR SLAVE," said the Jinn.

"Bring me old wines," said Aladdin.
"I have been a starved pauper too long.

• maiden [´meidn] n.少女 a.未婚的 (初中英语单词)
• perish [´periʃ] v.灭亡；消灭；(使)死去 (初中英语单词)
• furnace [´fə:nis] n.熔炉；火炉 (初中英语单词)
• underneath [,ʌndə´ni:θ] ad.&prep.在底下 (初中英语单词)
• partly [´pɑ:tli] ad.部分地；不完全地 (初中英语单词)
• scarlet [´skɑ:lit] n.猩红色 a.猩红的 (初中英语单词)
• bloody [´blʌdi] a.(流)血的；血腥的 (初中英语单词)
• wicked [´wikid] a.邪恶的；不道德的 (初中英语单词)
• midnight [´midnait] n.午夜；漆黑 (初中英语单词)
• twilight [´twailait] n.黎明；黄昏 (初中英语单词)
• innocent [´inəsənt] a.无罪的；单纯的 (初中英语单词)
• shovel [´ʃʌvəl] n.铲子；铁锹 (高中英语单词)
• strife [straif] n.竞争；吵架；冲突 (高中英语单词)
• reckless [´rekləs] a.不注意的；鲁莽的 (高中英语单词)
• gamble [´gæmbəl] v.&n.赌博；投机；冒险 (高中英语单词)
• lining [´lainiŋ] n.衬里；衬料 (高中英语单词)
• puritan [´pjuəritən] n.&a.清教徒(的) (高中英语单词)
• blessed [´blesid] a.享福的；神圣的 (英语四级单词)
• wondrous [´wʌndrəs] a.极好的 ad.惊人地 (英语四级单词)
• knives [naivz] knife的复数 (英语四级单词)
• scissors [´sizəz] n.剪刀，剪子 (英语四级单词)
• whirlwind [´wə:l,wind] n.旋风；猛烈的势力 (英语四级单词)
• biting [´baitiŋ] a.刺痛的；尖利的 (英语六级单词)
• deadlock [´dedlɔk] n.僵局；停滞 (英语六级单词)
• gambler [´gæmblə] n.赌徒 (英语六级单词)
• abandoned [ə´bændənd] a.被抛弃的；无约束的 (英语六级单词)
• relentless [ri´lentləs] a.无情的；坚韧的 (英语六级单词)