Friend, your white beard sweeps the ground
Friend, your white beard sweeps the ground. Why do you stand, expectant? Do you hope to see it In one of your withered days? With your old eyes Do you hope to see The
"What says the sea, little shell?"
“What says the sea, little shell? What says the sea? Long has our brother been silent to us, Kept his message for the ships, Awkward ships, stupid ships.” “The sea bids you mourn, O
When the prophet, a complacent fat man
When the prophet, a complacent fat man, Arrived at the mountain-top, He cried: “Woe to my knowledge! I intended to see good white lands And bad black lands, But the scene is grey.”
And you love me
And you love me I love you. You are, then, cold coward. Aye; but, beloved, When I strive to come to you, Man’s opinions, a thousand thickets, My interwoven existence, My life, Caught in
Each small gleam was a voice
Each small gleam was a voice, A lantern voice In little songs of carmine, violet, green, gold. A chorus of colours came over the water; The wondrous leaf-shadow no longer wavered, No pines crooned
To the maiden
To the maiden The sea was blue meadow, Alive with little froth-people Singing. To the sailor, wrecked, The sea was dead grey walls Superlative in vacancy, Upon which nevertheless at fateful time Was written
Black riders came from the sea
Black riders came from the sea. There was clang and clang of spear and shield, And clash and clash of hoof and heel, Wild shouts and the wave of hair In the rush upon
The successful man has thrust himself
The successful man has thrust himself Through the water of the years, Reeking wet with mistakes Bloody mistakes; Slimed with victories over the lesser, A figure thankful on the shore of money. Then, with
Mystic shadow, bending near me
Mystic shadow, bending near me, Who art thou? Whence come ye? And tell me is it fair Or is the truth bitter as eaten fire? Tell me! Fear not that I should quaver. For
The sage lectured brilliantly
The sage lectured brilliantly. Before him, two images: “Now this one is a devil, And this one is me.” He turned away. Then a cunning pupil Changed the positions. Turned the sage again: “Now
"I have heard the sunset song of the birches,"
“I have heard the sunset song of the birches, A white melody in the silence, I have seen a quarrel of the pines. At nightfall The little grasses have rushed by me With the
In the desert
In the desert I saw a creature, naked, bestial, Who, squatting upon the ground, Held his heart in his hands, And ate of it. I said: “Is it good, friend?” “It is bitter –
I met a seer
I met a seer. He held in his hands The book of wisdom. “Sir,” I addressed him, “Let me read.” “Child ” he began. “Sir,” I said, “Think not that I am a child,
A man saw a ball of gold in the sky
A man saw a ball of gold in the sky; He climbed for it, And eventually he achieved it It was clay. Now this is the strange part: When the man went to the
There was a land where lived no violets
There was a land where lived no violets. A traveller at once demanded : “Why?” The people told him: “Once the violets of this place spoke thus: ‘Until some woman freely gives her lover