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Mandragora/Episode

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For works with similar titles, see Episode.

Published in Mandragora (1917)

565682EpisodeJohn Cowper Powys

EPISODE

SO now that all is over,
And it does not greatly matter
How long the same roof cover
   The hope that perished there,
The fleeting hour to flatter.
  Now that it all is over,
Forget the sad word lover.
   And breathe — the air, the air!

Lean down and watch the river
   Flow fast beneath our bridge;
Watch the faint grasses quiver
   On the familiar ridge.
If all were well there would be
    No difference in the dew,
Nor in different fashion could we
   Catch the horizon's clue.

A sign, a symbol captured
   From the eternal flow!
Stood we by love enraptured,
   What more could either know?
Nothing! Between us ever
   The old unfathomed sea.
Not less than now would shiver
   With its bitter mystery.

So now that all is over,
   Let the great stars emerge,
Placid and calm, and cover
   The sky from verge to verge!
The deep and flowing magic
   Of the universe is such,
Comic be it, or tragic.
   It does not matter much!

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.


The longest-living author of this work died in 1963, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 60 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

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