I will bring thee a leaden crown, Cloth of Raines in thirty-fold! I will bring thee a bed on the wold To lay thee down. Thou hast brought me out of the town To the earth upturned where the bell is tolled-- Fires of hell and the river's cold My sorrows drown! TRISTAN AND ISOLDE The sea is here, it hath not any shore, Nor moves with moving of wind-driven waves Which, undulant and writhing--naked slaves To the uneasy wanderer of heaven's floor, Bow sullen backs beneath their master's store He brought with viewless hands from broken graves-- The sea is here, and in its silent caves Moves not, tho the wind clamors more and more. The sea is here, an infinite undertone; But lo! upon its surface I descry Two floating bubbles, wonderfully blown Toward each other, flame-like from the sky-- Meet--melt with lyric splendor into one-- Then, wind-prick'd, vanish--o'er the Sea, a cry! PALINURUS Starlight: with deep and quiet breathing slept The southern sea. The white-wing'd ship that bore The good Aeneas from his Dido's shore Ghostlike, with rippling furrows, onward crept, And only faithful Palinurus kept The midnight watch--but ah, the magic bough, The opiate dew that dript upon his brow, The vacant post, the friends who waking wept. The gods demand their victims; who shall know What failures Time and Circumstance compel? Yet, if such doom were mine, I would 'twere so That they would mark my absence thus: "How well Even unto the last he struggled, lo! He tore the rudder with him when he fell!" THE DERELICT I cannot remember whither I was bound-- I cannot remember why I was found Moving without a sound Moving in mystery-- Derelict, derelict, Over the sea! I too carry a cargo in my hold, Underneath sea-water and green with mold-- I cannot remember how old! For terrible it is to be Derelict, derelict, Over the sea! Feebler ships weather bravely into port; Running a course that is safe and short-- My voyage is another sort; No master guideth me-- Derelict, derelict, Over the sea! Nights have shadow'd me with phantom stride-- Stars have peer'd at me, eerie-eyed-- Goblin lights and magic tide Keep me company, Derelict, derelict, Over the sea! Setting suns have rowell'd me with crimson'd heel-- Winds have flung laughter, peal after peal-- But they shall not know that I feel Mute in my agony-- Derelict, derelict, Over the sea! Rudderless, by ways uncharted blown-- Some day shall waken to find me gone-- What matter? I have drifted alone Ever--alone--yet free-- Derelict, derelict, Over the sea! THE SQUIRE OF DAMES TO HIS LADY