Poems (Forrest)/The shadows
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,
For I knew how in bed of curtained state,
With his fallen jaw, and his dead eyes' hate,
Lay the Ancient-Reckoning.
And I knew that over the snow-soft hills
And over the lock of the frozen rills
Rode the troopers of the King.
With his fallen jaw, and his dead eyes' hate,
Lay the Ancient-Reckoning.
And I knew that over the snow-soft hills
And over the lock of the frozen rills
Rode the troopers of the King.
Dawn struck in with a daggered hand;
A door was wide to the wintry land,
And the King's armed men drew near.
High bosoms hid 'neath the swift-drawn lace;
While here was a proud enquiring face,
And there the smirk of fear.
A door was wide to the wintry land,
And the King's armed men drew near.
High bosoms hid 'neath the swift-drawn lace;
While here was a proud enquiring face,
And there the smirk of fear.
Aloof, she stood by the flower-wreathed door,
Tapped with her heel on the polished floor,
As though for the dance she cried.
Oh, the clean, crisp air came rushing in
On that foolish riot of Sense and Sin
From a world so clean and wide!
Tapped with her heel on the polished floor,
As though for the dance she cried.
Oh, the clean, crisp air came rushing in
On that foolish riot of Sense and Sin
From a world so clean and wide!
And I laughed as I moved to see them take
Unyielding grip of that subtle snake
'Who had dared to clasp her hand.
She was white as a pearl by a tropic sea,
She was pure as a moonlight's mystery,
Then I heard the curt command,
Unyielding grip of that subtle snake
'Who had dared to clasp her hand.
She was white as a pearl by a tropic sea,
She was pure as a moonlight's mystery,
Then I heard the curt command,
"In the King's name, for murder foul!"
Oh, the sun drew under a grey cloud cowl
And became a cloistered thing,
'Twas not the knave with the lank, black hair,
But a milk-white maiden, wondrous fair,
Who was prisoner of the King.
Oh, the sun drew under a grey cloud cowl
And became a cloistered thing,
'Twas not the knave with the lank, black hair,
But a milk-white maiden, wondrous fair,
Who was prisoner of the King.
Steadily stepped they over the floor,
Silent, grim, to the open door,
And she stepped steadily.
And the upheld loop of her gown of white
Made in a floor that was mirror-bright
The shape of a gallows tree.
Silent, grim, to the open door,
And she stepped steadily.
And the upheld loop of her gown of white
Made in a floor that was mirror-bright
The shape of a gallows tree.