These were a part of the playing I heard Once, ere my love and my heart were at strife; Love that sings and hath wings as a bird, Balm of the wound and heft of the knife. Fairer than earth is the sea, and sleep Than overwatching of eyes that weep, Now time has done with his one sweet word, The wine and leaven of lovely life. I shall go my ways, tread out my measure, Fill the days of my daily breath With fugitive things not good to treasure, Do as the world doth, say as it saith; But if we had loved each other--O sweet, Had you felt, lying under the palms of your feet, The heart of my heart, beating harder with pleasure To feel you tread it to dust and death-- Ah, had I not taken my life up and given All that life gives and the years let go, The wine and honey, the balm and leaven, The dreams reared high and the hopes brought low? Come life, come death, not a word be said; Should I lose you living, and vex you dead? I never shall tell you on earth; and in heaven, If I cry to you then, will you hear or know? LES NOYADES Whatever a man of the sons of men Shall say to his heart of the lords above, They have shown man verily, once and again, Marvellous mercies and infinite love. In the wild fifth year of the change of things, When France was glorious and blood-red, fair With dust of battle and deaths of kings, A queen of men, with helmeted hair, Carrier came down to the Loire and slew, Till all the ways and the waves waxed red: Bound and drowned, slaying two by two, Maidens and young men, naked and wed. They brought on a day to his judgment-place One rough with labour and red with fight, And a lady noble by name and face, Faultless, a maiden, wonderful, white. She knew not, being for shame's sake blind, If his eyes were hot on her face hard by. And the judge bade strip and ship them, and bind Bosom to bosom, to drown and die. The white girl winced and whitened; but he Caught fire, waxed bright as a great bright flame Seen with thunder far out on the sea, Laughed hard as the glad blood went and came. Twice his lips quailed with delight, then said, "I have but a word to you all, one word; Bear with me; surely I am but dead;" And all they laughed and mocked him and heard. "Judge, when they open the judgment-roll, I will stand upright before God and pray: 'Lord God, have mercy on one man's soul, For his mercy was great upon earth, I say. "'Lord, if I loved thee--Lord, if I served-- If these who darkened thy fair Son's face I fought with, sparing not one, nor swerved A hand's-breadth, Lord, in the perilous place-- "'I pray thee say to this man, O Lord, _Sit thou for him at my feet on a throne_. I will face thy wrath, though it bite as a sword, And my soul shall burn for his soul, and atone.