Poems (Young)/The House of Love
THE HOUSE OF LOVE.
I built for you a house of joy, A dun close-walled and warm within;Strong-fossed without, lest foe destroy Or creeping sorrow entrance win.
The wind that wails about the world Came with you through the open door—My joy-dun into ruin hurled Lay desolate for evermore.
I built for you a house of dream Fair as the pearly light of morn;Its pillars caught an opal gleam From skies where night was never born.
The wind that blows the stars to flame Blew through my house and left it bare:The beauty vanished when it came, The columns melted into air.
The next house that I build for you I'll build with stars and moon-fire white:Vaster than those the wind swept through, Its halls, star-paved, shall front the night.
Mayhap you'll come and wander there When all the winds are laid to rest, And find its sun-bright beauty fair Beyond the glow in East or West.
Mayhap its radiant fire must fade Before the wind that wakes the dawn,The light from Heaven's heart out-rayed When suns and moons are all withdrawn.
The wind that beats the stars to dust May sweep my star-built courts away:Let my dun fall—if fall it must— Its glory lasted for a day.
I care not how I lose anew, Or round the wreck what winds may wail—Since God's own dun was built for you, You are not houseless, though I fail.