Helen Redeemed and Other Poems

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Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net









 HELEN REDEEMED

 AND OTHER POEMS


 BY
 MAURICE HEWLETT


 Δῶρον Ἔρως Ἀΐδῃ



 MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
 ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON
 1913




Transcriber's Note

Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. Archaic
spellings have been retained. Greek text appears as originally printed.




DEDICATION


    Love owes tribute unto Death,
    Being but a flower of breath,
    Ev'n as thy fair body is
    Moment's figure of the bliss
    Dwelling in the mind of God
    When He called thee from the sod,
    Like a crocus up to start,
    Gray-eyed with a golden heart,
    Out of earth, and point our sight
    To thy eternal home of light.

    Here on earth is all we know:
    To let our love as steadfast blow,
    Open-hearted to the sun,
    Folded down when our day's done,
    As thy flower that bids it be
    Flower of thy charity.
    'Tis not ours to boast or pray
    Breath from us shall outlive clay;
    'Tis not thine, thou Pitiful,
    Set me task beyond my rule.

    Yet as young men carve on trees
    Lovely names, and find in these
    Solace in the after time,
    So to have hid thee in my rhyme
    Shall be comfort when I take
    The lonely road. Then, for my sake,
    Keep thou this my graven sigh,
    And, that I may not all die,
    Open it, and hear it tell,
    Here was one who loved thee well.

_October 6, 1912._




CONTENTS

                                         PAGE

 HELEN REDEEMED                             1
 HYPSIPYLE                                123
 OREITHYIA                                149
 CLYTIÉ                                   155
 LAI OF GOBERTZ                           159
 THE SAINTS' MAYING                       169
 THE ARGIVE WOMEN                         173
 GNATHO                                   187
 TO THE GODS OF THE COUNTRY               193
 FOURTEEN SONNETS--
     ALMA SDEGNOSA                        197
     THE WINDS' POSSESSION                198
     ASPETTO REALE                        199
     KIN CONFESSED                        200
     QUEL GIORNO PIÙ                      201
     ABSENCE                              202
     PRESENCE                             203
     DREAM ANGUISH                        204
     HYMNIA-BEATRIX                       206
     LUX E TENEBRIS                       207
     DUTY                                 208
     WAGES                                209
     EYE-SERVICE                          210
     CLOISTER THOUGHTS                    211
 THE CHAMBER IDYLL                        213
 EPIGRAMMATA--
     THE OLD HOUSE                        217
     BLUE IRIS                            217
     THE ROSEBUD                          218
     SPRING ON THE DOWN                   218
     SNOWY NIGHT                          219
     EVENING MOOD                         219
     THE PARTING                          220
 DEDICATION OF A BOOK                     221




NOTE


Three of the Poems here published have appeared in book form already, in
the Volume called _Songs and Meditations_, long out of print.




HELEN REDEEMED


PROEM

    Sing of the end of Troy, and of that flood
    Of passion by the blood
    Of heroes consecrate, by poet's craft
    Hallowed, if that thin waft
    Of godhead blown upon thee stretch thy song
    To span such store of strong
    And splendid vision of immortal themes
    Late harvested in dreams,
    Albeit long years laid up in tilth. Most meet
    Thou sing that slim and sweet
    Fair woman for whose bosom and delight
    Paris, as well he might,
    Wrought all the woe, and held her to his cost
    And Troy's, and won and lost
    Perforce; for who could look on her or feel
    Her near and not dare steal
    One hour of her, or hope to hold in bars
    Such wonder of the stars
    Undimmed? As soon expect to cage the rose
    Of dawn which comes and goes
    Fitful, or leash the shadows of the hills,
    Or music of upland rills
    As Helen's beauty and not tarnish it
    With thy poor market wit,
    Adept to hue the wanton in the wild,
    Defile the undefiled!
    Yet by the oath thou swearedst, standing high
    Where piled rocks testify
    The holy dust, and from Therapnai's hold
    Over the rippling wold
    Didst look upon Amyklai's, where sunrise
    First dawned in Helen's eyes,
    Take up thy tale, good poet, strain thine art
    To sing her rendered heart,
    Given last to him who loved her first, nor swerved
    From loving, but was nerved
    To see through years of robbery and shame
    Her spirit, a clear flame,
    Eloquent of her birthright. Tell his peace,
    And hers who at last found ease
    In white-arm'd Heré, holy husbander
    Of purer fire than e'er
    To wife gave Kypris.