Medusa

One calm and cloudless winter night,   Under a moonless sky, Whence I had seen the gracious light   Of sunset fade and die, I stood alone a little space,   Where tree nor building bars Its outlook, in a desert place, The best to see the stars. No sound was in the frosty air,   No light below the skies; I looked above, and unaware   Looked in Medusa’s eyes:— The eyes that neither laugh nor weep,   That neither hope nor fear, That neither watch nor dream nor sleep   Nor sympathize nor sneer; The eyes that neither spurn nor choose   Nor question nor reply, That neither pardon nor accuse,   That yield not nor defy; The eyes that hide not nor reveal,   That trust not nor betray, That acquiesce not nor appeal,—   The eyes that never pray. O love that will not be forgot!   O love that leaves alone! O love that blinds and blesses not!   O love that turns to stone!