Now he bent the knee; I never doubted of my part to do, Nor lingered idly, since to veil command In tender invitation pleased my lord; I sat, and round his neck one arm I laid Beyond all chance secure. Whether my weight Or the soft pressure of the encircling arm Quickened in him some unexpected bliss I know not, but his flight was one steep rush. O uncontrollable and joyous rage! O splendour of the multitudinous sea! Swift foam about my feet, the eager stroke Of the strong swimmer, new sea-creatures brave, And uproar of blown conch, and shouting lips Under the open heaven; till Crete rose fair With steadfast shining peak, and promontories.
Shed not a leaf, O plane-tree, not a leaf, Let sacred shadow, and slumbrous sound remain Alway, where Zeus looked down upon his bride.”
“This is my joy--that when my soul had wrought Her single victory over fate and fear, He came, who was deliverance. At the first, Though the rough-bearded fellows bruised my wrists Holding them backwards while they drove the bolts, And stared around my body, workman-like, I did not argue nor bewail; but when The flash and dip of equal oars had passed, And I was left a thing for sky and sea To encircle, gaze on, wonder at, not save-- The clear resolve which I had grasped and held, Slipped as a dew-drop slips from some flower-cup O’erweighted, and I longed to cry aloud One sharp, great cry, and scatter the fixed will, In fond self-pity. Have you watched night-long, Above a face from which the life recedes, And seen death set his seal before the dawn? You do not shriek and clasp the hands, but just When morning finds the world once more all good And ready for wave’s leap and swallow’s flight, There comes a drift from undiscovered flowers, A drone of sailing bee, a dance of light Among the awakened leaves, a touch, a tang, A nameless nothing, and the world turns round, And the full soul runs over, and tears flow, And it is seen a piteous thing to die. So fared it there with me; the ripple ran Crisp to my feet; the tufted sea-pink bloomed From a cleft rock, I saw the insects drop From blossom into blossom; and the wide Intolerable splendour of the sea, Calm in a liquid hush of summer morn, Girdled me, and no cloud relieved the sky. I had refused to drink the proffered wine Before they bound me, and my strength was less Than needful: yet the cry escaped not, yet My purpose had not fallen abroad in ruin; Only the perfect knowledge I had won Of things which fate decreed deserted me, The vision I had held of life and death Was blurred by some vague mist of piteousness, Nor could I lean upon a steadfast will. Therefore I closed both eyes resolved to search Backwards across the abysm, and find Death there, And hold him with my hand, and scan his face By my own choice, and read his strict intent On lip and brow,--not hunted to his feet And cowering slavewise; ‘Death,’ I whispered, ‘Death,’ Calling him whom I needed: and he came.