Page:Poems Dorr.djvu/213

There fell the light like golden mist,
Filtered through clouds of amethyst;
There bright-winged birds and odorous flowers
With song and fragrance filled the hours;
There Pleasure flung the portals wide,
And soul and sense were satisfied!

The queen? No fairer face than hers
E'er smiled upon its worshippers;
And she was good as fair, 'twas said,
And loved the king ere they were wed.
And he? No doubt he loved her, too,
After a kingly fashion—knew
She had a right his throne to share,
And would be mother of his heir.
But yet, to do him justice, he
Sometimes forgot his royalty—
Forgot his kingly crown, and then
Loved, and made love, like other men!

There seemed no shadow near the throne;
Yet oft the great king walked alone,
Hands clasped behind him, head bowed down,
And on his royal face a frown.
Sat Mordecai within his gate?
What scoffing spectre mocked his state?
What demon held him in a spell?
Alas! the sweet queen knew too well!
Apples of Sodom ate he, since
She had not borne to him a prince,
Though thrice his hope had budded fair,
And he had counted on an heir.
Three little daughters, dainty girls
With sunshine tangled in their curls,
Bloomed in the palace; but no son—