Poems (Kennedy)/Venus

by Sara Beaumont Kennedy

For works with similar titles, see Venus.

VENUS

ADOWN the purple west it slips  A splendid silver starTo human eyes; in verity  My Lady Venus' love-lit carThrough leagues on leagues of mystic space       Gone speeding far.

We may not see the doves that draw  The chariot of the air,We may not glimpse the roses red  That crown her wind-blown hair—We only know by subtle sense       That she is there.

By subtle sense we catch the lure  Of half averted eyes,And like a spell upon the heart  The perfume of her bosom liesAs Joy rides far and free with her       Across the skies.

The twittering sparrows of her train  Are but as jeweled dustFlung backward from the chariot wheels  In many a wind-blown gust—We only know that follow her  Aye, follow her we must.

For sorceries of the summer night  The souls of men unbarWhen Venus draws the whole world's heart  At wheels of her bright car—The chariot that our eyes behold       And call the Evening Star.