Ebony and Crystal/The Refuge of Beauty
THE REFUGE OF BEAUTY
From regions of the sun's half-dreamt decay,All day the cruel rain strikes darkly down;And from the night thy fatal stars shall frown—Beauty, wilt thou abide this night and day?
Roofless, at portals dark and desperate,Wilt thou a shelter unrefused implore,And past the tomb's too-hospitable door,Evade thy lover, in eluding Hate?********Alas, for what have I to offer thee?—Chill halls of mind, dark rooms of memoryWhere thou shalt dwell with woes and thoughts infirm;
This rumour-throngèd citadel of Sense,Trembling before some nameless Imminence;And fellow-guestship with the glutless Worm.