| |
| HEAR me, brother! | |
| Boldly I stepped into the Temple, | |
| Into the Temple where the God dwells | |
| Veiled with Seven Veils, | |
| Into the Temple of Unbroken Silence: | 5 |
| And my joyous feet shod with crimson sandals | |
| Rang out on the tesselated pavement, | |
| Rang out fearlessly | |
| Like a challenge and a cry! | |
| And there—in that shrouded solitude, | 10 |
| There—before the Seven Veils, | |
| There—because of youth and youth’s madness, | |
| Because of love and love’s unresting heart, | |
| There did I sing three songs! | |
| And my first song praised the eyes of a wanton; | 15 |
| And my second song praised the lips of a wanton; | |
| And my third song praised the feet of a dancing girl! | |
| |
| Thus did I desecrate the Temple, | |
| Thus did I stand before the Seven Veils, | |
| Proudly! | 20 |
| Thus did I wait upon the God’s Voice— | |
| Proudly!— | |
| And the sudden shaft of death ..… | |
| |
| But no Voice stirred the Seven Veils, | |
| Though I stood long ..… | 25 |
| |
| And my knees shook, | |
| My bones were afraid ..… | |
| |
| Swiftly I loosed the crimson sandals, | |
| And, tearing them from off my feet, | |
| Crept shuddering forth! | 30 |
| |
| Hear me, brother! | |
| Now am I as one stricken with palsy, | |
| Now am I sick with the close ache of terror, | |
| Now am I as one who, having tasted poison, | |
| Cowers, waiting for the pang! | 35 |
| |
| For the God spake not ..… | |
| |
| And the sense of my littleness is upon me: | |
| And I am a worm in my own sight, | |
| Trodden and helpless; | |
| A casual grain of sand | 40 |
| Indistinguishable amid a million grains: | |
| And I take no pleasure now in youth | |
| Nor in youth’s madness, | |
| In love | |
| Nor in love’s unresting heart; | 45 |
| And I praise no longer the eyes of a wanton, | |
| Nor the lips of a wanton, | |
| Nor the light feet of a dancing girl. | |
| |
