Poems (Taylor)/Three Fates
THREE FATES
I.
O Dreamer, follow fast the Star Adown yon wild green West:Within the still green water-world They charm your place of rest.
A white mermaiden softly coils The linked melodyShall draw you down like chains of pearl Beneath the lighted sea.
What rumours of Eternity, What old old dreams and new!With coral and with ambergris The couch is flowered for you.
II.
O Masquer, are you loth Love Sleep Should kiss your eyelids close?Yet, as you dance, the good earth-god Takes thought for your repose.
Somewhere beneath the kindly dust, Made sweet with thyme and rue,Under a springing cypress-plant A bed is made for you.
Dance on, and sing. But, softly weaned From sunlight and from dew,The great sad roses early die To make the bed for you.
III.
O Lover, for the maze of doom Is thine the golden clue? Down by the sullen alder-pool The wood is grown for you.
Across the black and freshening field, Beneath the bitter blue,A Sower swings his rhythmic hands. Hempseed is sown for you.
What matter—if the love of Love Be coft with all the shame!By water, land, or giddy air The sleep is much the same!