City Vignettes
I

Dawn
The greenish sky glows up in misty reds,

The purple shadows turn to brick and stone,
The dreams wear thin, men turn upon their beds,

And hear the milk-cart jangle by alone.
II

Dusk
The city's street, a roaring blackened stream

Walled in by granite, thro' whose thousand eyes
A thousand yellow lights begin to gleam,

And over all the pale untroubled skies.
III

Rain at Night
The street-lamps shine in a yellow line

Down the splashy, gleaming street,
And the rain is heard now loud now blurred

By the tread of homing feet.
By the Sea

Beside an ebbing northern sea
While stars awaken one by one,

We walk together, I and he.
He woos me with an easy grace

That proves him only half sincere;
A light smile flickers on his face.

To him love-making is an art,
And as a flutist plays a flute,

So does he play upon his heart
A music varied to his whim.

He has no use for love of mine,
He would not have me answer him.

To hide my eyes within the night
I watch the changeful lighthouse gleam

Alternately with red and white.
My laughter smites upon my ears,

So one who cries and wakes from sleep
Knows not it is himself he hears.

What if my voice should let him know
The mocking words were all a sham,

And lips that laugh could tremble so?
What if I lost the power to lie,

And he should only hear his name
In one low, broken cry?

On the Death of Swinburne
He trod the earth but yesterday,

And now he treads the stars.
He left us in the April time

He praised so often in his rhyme,
He left the singing and the lyre and went his way.

He drew new music from our tongue,
A music subtly wrought,

And moulded words to his desire,
As wind doth mould a wave of fire;

From strangely fashioned harps slow golden tones he wrung.
I think the singing understands

That he who sang is still,
And Iseult cries that he is dead, --

Does not Dolores bow her head
And Fragoletta weep and wring her little hands?

New singing now the singer hears
To lyre and lute and harp;

Catullus waits to welcome him,
And thro' the twilight sweet and dim,

Sappho's forgotten songs are falling on his ears.
Triolets

I
Love looked back as he took his flight,

And lo, his eyes were filled with tears.
Was it for love of lost delight

Love looked back as he took his flight?
Only I know while day grew night,

Turning still to the vanished years,
Love looked back as he took his flight,

And lo, his eyes were filled with tears.
II

(Written in a copy of "La Vita Nuova". For M. C. S.)
If you were Lady Beatrice

And I the Florentine,
I'd never waste my time like this --

If you were Lady Beatrice
I'd woo and then demand a kiss,

Nor weep like Dante here, I ween,
If you were Lady Beatrice

And I the Florentine.
III

(Written in a copy of "The Poems of Sappho".)
Beyond the dim Hesperides,

The girl who sang them long ago
Could never dream that over seas,

Beyond the dim Hesperides,
The wind would blow such songs as these --

I wonder now if she can know,
Beyond the dim Hesperides,

The girl who sang them long ago?
IV

Dead leaves upon the stream
And dead leaves on the air --

All of my lost hopes seem
Dead leaves upon the stream;

I watch them in a dream,
Going I know not where,

Dead leaves upon the stream
And dead leaves on the air.

Vox Corporis
The beast to the beast is calling,

And the soul bends down to wait;
Like the stealthy lord of the jungle,

The white man calls his mate.
The beast to the beast is calling,

They rush through the twilight sweet,
But the soul is a wary hunter,

He will not let them meet.
A Ballad of Two Knights

Two knights rode forth at early dawn
A-seeking maids to wed,

Said one, "My lady must be fair,
With gold hair on her head."

Then spake the other knight-at-arms:
"I care not for her face,

But she I love must be a dove
For purity and grace."

And each knight blew upon his horn
And went his separate way,

And each knight found a lady-love
Before the fall of day.

But she was brown who should have had
The shining yellow hair --

I ween the knights forgot their words
Or else they ceased to care.

For he who wanted purity
Brought home a wanton wild,

And when each saw the other knight
I ween that each knight smiled.

Christmas Carol
The kings they came from out the south,

All dressed in ermine fine,
They bore Him gold and chrysoprase,

And gifts of precious wine.
The shepherds came from out the north,

Their coats were brown and old,
They brought Him little new-born lambs --

They had not any gold.
The wise-men came from out the east,

And they were wrapped in white;
The star that led them all the way

Did glorify the night.
The angels came from heaven high,

And they were clad with wings;
And lo, they brought a joyful song

The host of heaven sings.
The kings they knocked upon the door,

The wise-men entered in,
The shepherds followed after them

To hear the song begin.
And Mary held the little child

And sat upon the ground;
She looked up, she looked down,

She looked all around.
The angels sang thro' all the night

Until the rising sun,
But little Jesus fell asleep

Before the song was done.
The Faery Forest

The faery forest glimmered
Beneath an ivory moon,

The silver grasses shimmered
Against a faery tune.

Beneath the silken silence
The crystal branches slept,

And dreaming thro' the dew-fall
The cold white blossoms wept.

A Fantasy
Her voice is like clear water

That drips upon a stone
In forests far and silent

Where Quiet plays alone.
Her thoughts are like the lotus

Abloom by sacred streams
Beneath the temple arches

Where Quiet sits and dreams.
Her kisses are the roses

That glow while dusk is deep
In Persian garden closes

Where Quiet falls asleep.
A Minuet of Mozart's

Across the dimly lighted room
The violin drew wefts of sound,

Airily they wove and wound
And glimmered gold against the gloom.

I watched the music turn to light,
But at the pausing of the bow,

The web was broken and the glow
Was drowned within the wave of night.

Twilight
Dreamily over the roofs

The cold spring rain is falling,
Out in the lonely tree

A bird is calling, calling.
Slowly over the earth

The wings of night are falling;

• purple [´pə:pl] n.紫色 a.紫(红)的 (初中英语单词)
• awaken [ə´weikən] v.唤起，叫醒 (初中英语单词)
• laughter [´lɑ:ftə] n.笑，笑声 (初中英语单词)
• strangely [´streindʒli] ad.奇怪地；陌生地 (初中英语单词)
• singer [´siŋə] n.歌手，演唱者 (初中英语单词)
• welcome [´welkəm] a.受欢迎的；可喜的 (初中英语单词)
• twilight [´twailait] n.黎明；黄昏 (初中英语单词)
• purity [´pjuəriti] n.纯净；贞洁 (初中英语单词)
• crystal [´kristəl] n.水晶 a.水晶的 (初中英语单词)
• sacred [´seikrid] a.神圣的；庄严的 (初中英语单词)
• temple [´tempəl] n.庙宇；寺院；太阳穴 (初中英语单词)
• persian [´pə:ʃən] a.波斯的 n.波斯人 (初中英语单词)
• lonely [´ləunli] a.孤独的；无人烟的 (初中英语单词)
• granite [´grænit] n.花岗岩 (高中英语单词)
• ballad [´bæləd] n.民歌，民谣 (高中英语单词)
• knight [nait] n.骑士；爵士 (高中英语单词)
• joyful [´dʒɔifəl] a.高兴的，充满快乐的 (高中英语单词)
• silken [´silkən] a.丝制的；柔软光滑的 (高中英语单词)
• varied [´veərid] a.各种各样的 (英语四级单词)
• lighthouse [´laithaus] n.灯塔 (英语四级单词)
• wanton [´wɔntən, ´wɑ:n-] a.顽皮的 n.&vi.荡妇 (英语四级单词)
• glorify [´glɔ:rifai] vt.赞美，颂扬，美化 (英语四级单词)
• violin [,vaiə´lin] n.(小)提琴 (英语四级单词)
• greenish [´gri:niʃ] a.带绿色的 (英语六级单词)
• calling [´kɔ:liŋ] n.点名；职业；欲望 (英语六级单词)