THE SHADOWS
The dancers swung, and their shadows
Fled after them over the floor;
For mirror-bright was the polished floor,
And flower-barred was the carven door.
Fled after them over the floor;
For mirror-bright was the polished floor,
And flower-barred was the carven door.
The music throbbed to a lover's measure,
And Folly wed with her wanton, Pleasure,
For the space of a reckless night;
And she flicked the heel of her scarlet shoon,
And forgot the lake, and the pale-faced moon,
And the uplands chaste and white.
And Folly wed with her wanton, Pleasure,
For the space of a reckless night;
And she flicked the heel of her scarlet shoon,
And forgot the lake, and the pale-faced moon,
And the uplands chaste and white.
And I wondered, watching the ringing throng
That trod Mirth's maze with a lilt along,
Where the guilt of blood could lie:
Till I saw one go with a stealthy air,
A feathered cap on his lank black hair,
And a dagger at his thigh.
That trod Mirth's maze with a lilt along,
Where the guilt of blood could lie:
Till I saw one go with a stealthy air,
A feathered cap on his lank black hair,
And a dagger at his thigh.
His arms held a maiden, young and white,
As fair as star on a stormy night.
Ah, how could such linking be?
My bitter glance to the floor sank down,
Till the blurred reflex of her silken gown
Took the shape of a gallows tree,
As fair as star on a stormy night.
Ah, how could such linking be?
My bitter glance to the floor sank down,
Till the blurred reflex of her silken gown
Took the shape of a gallows tree,
