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And whenever I sit at the banquet;

  Where the feast and song are high;

Amid the mirth and the music

  I can hear that fearful cry。



And hollow and haggard faces

  Look into the lighted hall;

And wasted hands are extended

  To catch the crumbs that fall。



For within there is light and plenty;

  And odors fill the air;

But without there is cold and darkness;

  And hunger and despair。



And there in the camp of famine;

  In wind and cold and rain;

Christ; the great Lord of the army;

  Lies dead upon the plain!







THE BROOK AND THE WAVE



The brooklet came from the mountain;

  As sang the bard of old;

Running with feet of silver

  Over the sands of gold!



Far away in the briny ocean

  There rolled a turbulent wave;

Now singing along the sea…beach;

  Now howling along the cave。



And the brooklet has found the billow

  Though they flowed so far apart;

And has filled with its freshness and sweetness

  That turbulent bitter heart!







AFTERMATH



When the summer fields are mown;

When the birds are fledged and flown;

  And the dry leaves strew the path;

With the falling of the snow;

With the cawing of the crow;

Once again the fields we mow

  And gather in the aftermath。



Not the sweet; new grass with flowers

Is this harvesting of ours;

  Not the upland clover bloom;

But the rowen mired with weeds;

Tangled tufts from marsh and meads;

Where the poppy drops its seeds

  In the silence and the gloom。







THE MASQUE OF PANDORA



I



THE WORKSHOP OF HEPHAESTUS



HEPHAESTUS (standing before the statue of Pandora。)

Not fashioned out of gold; like Hera's throne;

Nor forged of iron like the thunderbolts

Of Zeus omnipotent; or other works

Wrought by my hands at Lemnos or Olympus;

But moulded in soft clay; that unresisting

Yields itself to the touch; this lovely form

Before me stands; perfect in every part。

Not Aphrodite's self appeared more fair;

When first upwafted by caressing winds

She came to high Olympus; and the gods

Paid homage to her beauty。  Thus her hair

Was cinctured; thus her floating drapery

Was like a cloud about her; and her face

Was radiant with the sunshine and the sea。



THE VOICE OF ZEUS。

Is thy work done; Hephaestus?



HEPHAESTUS。

It is finished!



THE VOICE。

Not finished till I breathe the breath of life

Into her nostrils; and she moves and speaks。



HEPHAESTUS。

Will she become immortal like ourselves?



THE VOICE。

The form that thou hast fashioned out of clay

Is of the earth and mortal; but the spirit;


The life; the exhalation of my breath;

Is of diviner essence and immortal。

The gods shall shower on her their benefactions;

She shall possess all gifts: the gift of song;

The gift of eloquence; the gift of beauty;

The fascination and the nameless charm

That shall lead all men captive。



HEPHAESTUS。

Wherefore? wherefore?



(A wind shakes the house。)



I hear the rushing of a mighty wind

Through all the halls and chambers of my house!

Her parted lips inhale it; and her bosom

Heaves with the inspiration。  As a reed

Beside a river in the rippling current

Bends to and fro; she bows or lifts her head。

She gazes round about as if amazed;

She is alive; she breathes; but yet she speaks not!



(PANDORA descends from the pedestal。)





CHORUS OF THE GRACES



AGLAIA。

In the workshop of Hephaestus

    What is this I see?

Have the Gods to four increased us

    Who were only three?

Beautiful in form and feature;

    Lovely as the day;

Can there be so fair a creature

    Formed of common clay?



THALIA。

O sweet; pale face!  O lovely eyes of azure;

  Clear as the waters of a brook that run

  Limpid and laughing in the summer sun!

  O golden hair that like a miser's treasure

In its abundance overflows the measure!

  O graceful form; that cloudlike floatest on

  With the soft; undulating gait of one

  Who moveth as if motion were a pleasure!

By what name shall I call thee?  Nymph or Muse;

  Callirrhoe or Urania?  Some sweet name

  Whose every syllable is a caress

Would best befit thee; but I cannot choose;

  Nor do I care to choose; for still the same;

  Nameless or named; will be thy loveliness。



EUPHROSYNE。

Dowered with all celestial gifts;

    Skilled in every art

That ennobles and uplifts

    And delights the heart;

Fair on earth shall be thy fame

    As thy face is fair;

And Pandora be the name

    Thou henceforth shalt bear。





II



OLYMPUS。



HERMES (putting on his sandals。)

Much must he toil who serves the Immortal Gods;

And I; who am their herald; most of all。

No rest have I; nor respite。  I no sooner

Unclasp the winged sandals from my feet;

Than I again must clasp them; and depart

Upon some foolish errand。  But to…day

The errand is not foolish。  Never yet

With greater joy did I obey the summons

That sends me earthward。  I will fly so swiftly

That my caduceus in the whistling air

Shall make a sound like the Pandaean pipes;

Cheating the shepherds; for to…day I go;

Commissioned by high…thundering Zeus; to lead

A maiden to Prometheus; in his tower;

And by my cunning arguments persuade him

To marry her。  What mischief lies concealed

In this design I know not; but I know

Who thinks of marrying hath already taken

One step upon the road to penitence。

Such embassies delight me。  Forth I launch

On the sustaining air; nor fear to fall

Like Icarus; nor swerve aside like him

Who drove amiss Hyperion's fiery steeds。

I sink; I fly! The yielding element

Folds itself round about me like an arm;

And holds me as a mother holds her child。





III



TOWER OF PROMETHEUS ON MOUNT CAUCASUS



PROMETHEUS。

I hear the trumpet of Alectryon

Proclaim the dawn。  The stars begin to fade;

And all the heavens are full of prophecies

And evil auguries。  Blood…red last night

I saw great Kronos rise; the crescent moon

Sank through the mist; as if it were the scythe

His parricidal hand had flung far down

The western steeps。  O ye Immortal Gods;

What evil are ye plotting and contriving?



(HERMES and PANDORA at the threshold。)



PANDORA。

I cannot cross the threshold。  An unseen

And icy hand repels me。  These blank walls

Oppress me with their weight!



PROMETHEUS。

Powerful ye are;

But not omnipotent。  Ye cannot fight

Against Necessity。  The Fates control you;

As they do us; and so far we are equals!



PANDORA。

Motionless; passionless; companionless;

He sits there muttering in his beard。  His voice

Is like a river flowing underground!



HERMES。

Prometheus; hail!



PROMETHEUS。

Who calls me?



HERMES。

It is I。

Dost thou not know me?



PROMETHEUS。

By thy winged cap

And winged heels I know thee。  Thou art Hermes;

Captain of thieves!  Hast thou again been stealing

The heifers of Admetus in the sweet

Meadows of asphodel? or Hera's girdle?

Or the earth…shaking trident of Poseidon?



HERMES。

And thou; Prometheus; say; hast thou again

Been stealing fire from Helios' chariot…wheels

To light thy furnaces?



PROMETHEUS。

Why comest thou hither

So early in the dawn?



HERMES。

The Immortal Gods

Know naught of late or early。  Zeus himself

The omnipotent hath sent me。



PROMETHEUS。

For what purpose?



HERMES。

To bring this maiden to thee。



PROMETHEUS。

I mistrust

The Gods and all their gifts。 If they have sent her

It is for no good purpose。



HERMES。

What disaster

Could she bring on thy house; who is a woman?



PROMETHEUS。

The Gods are not my friends; nor am I theirs。

Whatever comes from them; though in a shape

As beautiful as this; is evil only。

Who art thou?



PANDORA。

One who; though to thee unknown;

Yet knoweth thee。



PROMETHEUS。

How shouldst thou know me; woman?



PANDORA。

Who knoweth not Prometheus the humane?



PROMETHEUS。

Prometheus the unfortunate; to whom

Both Gods and men have shown themselves ungrateful。

When every spark was quenched on every hearth

Throughout the earth; I brought to man the fire

And all its ministrations。  My reward

Hath been the rock and vulture。



HERMES。

But the Gods

At last relent and pardon。



PROMETHEUS。

They relent not;

They pardon not; they are implacable;

Revengeful; unforgiving!



HERMES。

As a pledge

Of reconciliation they have sent to thee

This divine being; to be thy companion;

And bring into thy melancholy house

The sunshine and the fragrance of her youth。



PROMETHEUS。

I need them not。  I have within myself

All that my heart desires; the ideal beauty

Which the creative faculty of mind

Fashions and follows in a thousand shapes

More lovely than the real。  My own thoughts

Are my companions; my designs and labors

And aspirations are my only friends。



HERMES。

Decide not rashly。  The decision made

Can never be recalled。  The Gods implore not;

Plead not; solicit not; they only offer

Choice and occasion; which once being passed

Return no more。  Dost thou accept the gift?



PROMETHEUS。

No gift of theirs; in whatsoever shape

It comes to me; with whatsoever charm

To fascinate my sense; will I receive。

Leave me。



PANDORA。

Let us go hence。  I will not stay。



HERMES。

We leave thee to thy vacant dreams; and all

The silence and the solitude of thought;

The endless bitterness of unbelief;

The loneliness of existence without love。





CHORUS OF THE FATES



CLOTHO。

How the Titan; the defiant;

The self…centred; self…reliant;

Wrapped in visions and illusions;

Robs himself of life's best gifts!

Till by all the storm…winds shaken;

By the blast of fate o'ertaken;

Hopeless; helpless; and forsaken;

In the mists of his confusions

To the reefs of doom he drifts!



LACHESIS。

So

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