The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1918-07-11
Than every whlmper of regret

hhh GUN NuutNl ste, anu lttl aware
Some mystic presence waited there
And staring, with a dazed surprise,
| saw a creature so divine
That never subtle thought of mi ne
May reproduce to inner sight
So fair a vision of delight.
"A syllable of dew that drips
From out lily's laughing lips
Could not be sweeter than the word
| listened to, yet never heard
For, oh, the woman hiding there
Within the shadows of her hair,
Spake to me in an undertone
SO delicate, my soul alone
But understood it as moan
OF some weak melody of wind
A heavenward breeze had left behind.
IA tracery of trees, grotesque
Against the sky, behind her seen,
Like shapeless shapes of arabeSque
Wrought in an oriental screen;
And tall, austerc and statuesque
She doomed before it-e'en as though
The spirit hand of Angelo
Had chiseled her to life complete,
With chips of moonshine round her
feet.
And grew jealous of the dusk,
To see it softly touch her face,
AS loverlike, with fond embrace,
1t folded round her like husk:
But when the glitter of her hand,
Like wasted glory, beckoned me,
My eyes grew blurred and dull and
dim
My vision failed-I could not sec
| could not stir--I could but stand
Till, quivering in every limb,
l flung me prone, as though to swim
The tide of grass whose waves of
green
Went rolling ocean-wide between
My helpless shipwrecked heart and
her
Who claimed me for worshiper.
"And wrlthing thus in my despair,
| heard a weird, unearthly sound
ground
And hold me floating in the air.
l looked, and 10! | saw her bow
Above a harp within her hands;
A crown of blossoms bound her brow
And on her harp were twisted
strands
OF siIken starlight, ripping DER
With music never heard before
By mortal ears; and, at the strain,
| felt my spirit snap its chain
And break away, and / could see
1t as it turned and fled from me
To greet its mistress, where she smiled
TO see the phantom dancing wild
And wizardlike before the spell
Her mystic fingers knew so we'll"
l sat throughout 1t all as though I'M
drug. My fancy was so wrought upon
1 only saw the reader mistily, and
clothed as it were, in a bedragoned
costume of the Orient. My mind
seemed idle-steeped in browse and
languOr, and yet peOpled with a thou
sand shadowy fancies that came troop
ing from chaotic hiding places, and
mingling in a revelry of such riotouS
extravaganza it seemed holiday of
selfish thought.
| shook my head, l rubbed my eyes,
arose bewidered, and sat down again !;
arose again and walked across the
room, my strange companion following
every motion with an intensity of gaze
almost meSmeric.
'You fail to comprehend it2" he
qucrled.
| shook my head.
you can almost grasp it, can't
your
Yes" | answered.
But not quite"
mot quite"
Does it worry your"
eyes"
"Think it will cling to you, and fret
you, vex you, haunt your"
81 know it will"
"Think you'll ever fully comprehend
it2"
81 can't say" replied thoughtfully.
perhaps | may in time. VIII you al
low me to copy it?"
"What do you want with it2"
81 want to study It," l replied.
"And you're sure you don't under
stand 1t, and it worries you, and frets
you, and veXes you, and haunts you?
Good I'll read you the final clause
now; that may throw light of some
kind on it," and, opening the SCROLL
again he read:
"What is it? Who will rightly guess
If it be aught but nothingness
That dribbles from hayward pen
70 spatter in the eyes of men2
What matter! l will call it mine,
And | will take the changeling home
And battle its face with morning-shine,
And comb it with golden comb
Till every tangled tress of rhyme
VIII fairer be than summer time:
And | will nurse 1t on my knee,
And dandle it beyond the clasp
OF hands that grip and hands that
grasp,
Through life and all eternity"
"NOw what do you think of it2" he
asked with a savageness that startled
me.
81 am more at sea than ever" re-
piled.
'Well, I wish you a prosperous yoy-
age! Here's the poem; I've another
copy Read and reflect as the rail
road poster says, but don't you pub
lish it--at least while I'm alive, for