In the Far East the old Religions say
Man rises nearest to the Gods above,
For a brief space becoming even as they,
In the last ecstasy of human love.
Might I not also rise and reach your soul
If once its passionate life had passed to me
In the surrender of your self control,
Th' unguarded moments of your ecstasy?
For though you hold that Love is brief and mortal,
What other way can I attain to you?
I know, O Azure Eyes, no other portal
To reach the mind beyond your mystic blue.
And yet—what use these dear, delusive dreams?
The night wears through, the stars grow pale above,
Farewell, O Sapphires, set in tears, there seems
No hope, no rest, you would not, could not, love.
61
