What seek’st thou at this madman’s pace? “I seek my love’s new dwelling place: Her house is dark, her doors are wide, There bat and owl and beetle bide, And there, breast-high, the rank weeds grow, And drowsy poppies nod and blow. So mount I swift to ride me through The world to find my love anew. I have no token of the way; I haste by night, I press by day. Through busy cities I am borne, On lonely heights I watch the morn Climb up the east, and see the light Of waning moon gleam thwart my flight. Sometimes a light before me flees; I follow it, till stormy seas Break wide before, then all is dark. Sometimes on plains, wide, still, and stark, I hear a voice; I seek the sound, And ride into a hush profound. To find her dwelling I will ride Worlds through and through, whate’er betide.” To find her dwelling rode he forth, In vain rode south, in vain rode north; In vain in mountain, plain, and mart He searched, but never searched his heart.
His Quest
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What seek’st thou at this madman’s pace? “I seek my love’s new dwelling place: Her house is dark, her doors are wide, There bat and owl and beetle bide, And there, breast-high, the rank weeds grow, And drowsy poppies nod and blow. So mount I swift to ride me through The world to find my love...
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In a tangled, scented hollow, On a bed of crimson roses, Stilly now the wind reposes; Hardly can the breezes borrow Breath to stir the night-swept river. Motionless the water-sedges, And within the dusky hedges Sounds no leaf’s impatient shiver. Sleep has come, that rare rest-giver. Light and...
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That night I think that no one slept; No bells were struck, no whistle blew, And when the watch was changed I crept From man to man of all the crew With whispered orders. Though we swept Through roaring seas, we hushed the clock, And muffled every clanking block. So when one fool,...