Poems (May)/The winged horseman
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THE WINGED HORSEMAN.
Down the green distance of cathedral woods,
Methought a youth sat mounted for a journey,
Reining a steed within whose cloudy eyes
Slumber and flame contended. I could see
How sullenly he hung upon the bit,
And trod all greenness from the place beneath
With ponderous, restless hoofs. Light sat the rider,
As one who feels his strength.
The early dawn
Lit the pale semblance of an angel's glory
Over his brow. Nor sword nor shield bare he.
Many I saw on fretting, fiery steeds,
Some armoured, and some masked, but few, like him.
Winged with soft plumes. His right hand grasped a wand,
That, like a prism, showed the plain white light
A mine of jewels. Pendent from his neck,
Hung to his breast a mirror clear, wherein
All life made pictures. Else those mystical shapes
That walk as ghosts the troubled house of sleep,
Or the unhallowed breath of that dark steed,
Dimmed it awhile. His eyes were full of thought,
Deep and dream-haunted, but their upward glance
Was like the free sweep of an eagle's wing.
Methought a youth sat mounted for a journey,
Reining a steed within whose cloudy eyes
Slumber and flame contended. I could see
How sullenly he hung upon the bit,
And trod all greenness from the place beneath
With ponderous, restless hoofs. Light sat the rider,
As one who feels his strength.
The early dawn
Lit the pale semblance of an angel's glory
Over his brow. Nor sword nor shield bare he.
Many I saw on fretting, fiery steeds,
Some armoured, and some masked, but few, like him.
Winged with soft plumes. His right hand grasped a wand,
That, like a prism, showed the plain white light
A mine of jewels. Pendent from his neck,
Hung to his breast a mirror clear, wherein
All life made pictures. Else those mystical shapes
That walk as ghosts the troubled house of sleep,
Or the unhallowed breath of that dark steed,
Dimmed it awhile. His eyes were full of thought,
Deep and dream-haunted, but their upward glance
Was like the free sweep of an eagle's wing.
He rode forth on his journey, the black steed
Moving with cumbrous pace, save when, incensed
By the firm curb, he tried his master's strength,
And with wide fiery eyes and trembling nostrils
Reared and leapt forward. As the noon drew near,
The rider's arm grew weary of restraining,
And many passed by with reins flying loose,
Urging him on. Some laughed aloud for scorn,
To see him play the laggard. But ofttimes
Bright forms came shaping through the dim blue air,
And voices spake to him they wist not of,
And while he looked and listened, the black steed
Lay down and slumbered.
Farther on, I saw
A river with alternate light and shade,
Ringed like a serpent. Some of those who passed.
Waked only by the cold lap of its waves,
Slept on their flying coursers.
Woven leaves
Replaced the halo. Those afar, beheld
The air all rainbowed o'er the youth. A veil
Betwixt his vision and the outer world
Lay like a vapour that, dissolving, spreads
Into wild phantoms, as the mists of sleep
Wreathe into those strange shapes that men call dreams.
Moving with cumbrous pace, save when, incensed
By the firm curb, he tried his master's strength,
And with wide fiery eyes and trembling nostrils
Reared and leapt forward. As the noon drew near,
The rider's arm grew weary of restraining,
And many passed by with reins flying loose,
Urging him on. Some laughed aloud for scorn,
To see him play the laggard. But ofttimes
Bright forms came shaping through the dim blue air,
And voices spake to him they wist not of,
And while he looked and listened, the black steed
Lay down and slumbered.
Farther on, I saw
A river with alternate light and shade,
Ringed like a serpent. Some of those who passed.
Waked only by the cold lap of its waves,
Slept on their flying coursers.
Woven leaves
Replaced the halo. Those afar, beheld
The air all rainbowed o'er the youth. A veil
Betwixt his vision and the outer world
Lay like a vapour that, dissolving, spreads
Into wild phantoms, as the mists of sleep
Wreathe into those strange shapes that men call dreams.
Methought they paused upon the river bank,
Rider and horse. The steed, with planted hoofs,
Stood resolute, and once the rider reeled
As giddy with the flowing of the waves,
And once he turned, with lingering, loving looks
Sped to the land whose lengthened shadows fell
Deep on the waters. All his laurels dropped
Upon the shore he left. His bright wand lay,
Adrift upon the river. The black steed
Swam in its wake, and with his rein left loose
Played the swift ripples; and they drew a veil
Over his sight, and sang into his ears
Where the contending strains of heaven and earth
Met and made discord. When I looked again,
Lo, the pale rider, who with outstretched arms,
Trod the fast-sliding currents, till ashore
Plucked by extended hands! Thenceforth I saw
Only the glorified outlines of a form
Cast on the waters brokenly. Beyond,
In my faint soul excessive light made darkness.
Rider and horse. The steed, with planted hoofs,
Stood resolute, and once the rider reeled
As giddy with the flowing of the waves,
And once he turned, with lingering, loving looks
Sped to the land whose lengthened shadows fell
Deep on the waters. All his laurels dropped
Upon the shore he left. His bright wand lay,
Adrift upon the river. The black steed
Swam in its wake, and with his rein left loose
Played the swift ripples; and they drew a veil
Over his sight, and sang into his ears
Where the contending strains of heaven and earth
Met and made discord. When I looked again,
Lo, the pale rider, who with outstretched arms,
Trod the fast-sliding currents, till ashore
Plucked by extended hands! Thenceforth I saw
Only the glorified outlines of a form
Cast on the waters brokenly. Beyond,
In my faint soul excessive light made darkness.