"Burned on the waters of the well that glowed Like gold, and threaded all the forest's maze With winding paths of emerald fire; there stood "Amid the sun, as he amid the blaze Of his own glory, on the vibrating Floor of the fountain, paved with flashing rays, "A Shape all light, which with one hand did fling Dew on the earth, as if she were the dawn, "A silver music on the mossy lawn; And still before me on the dusky grass, Iris her many-coloured scarf had drawn: "In her right hand she bore a crystal glass, Mantling with bright Nepenthe; the fierce splendour Fell from her as she moved under the mass "Of the deep cavern, and with palms so tender, Their tread broke not the mirror of its billow, Glided along the river, and did bend her "Head under the dark boughs, till like a willow, Her fair hair swept the bosom of the stream, That whispered with delight to be its pillow. "As one enamoured is upborne in dream O'er lily-paven lakes 'mid silver mist, To wondrous music, so this shape might seem Partly to tread the waves with feet which kissed The dancing foam; partly to glide along "Or the faint morning beams that fell among The trees, or the soft shadows of the trees; And her feet, ever to the ceaseless song "Of leaves, and winds, and waves, and birds, and bees, And falling drops, moved in a measure new Yet sweet, as on the summer evening breeze, Up from the lake a shape of golden dew Between two rocks, athwart the rising moon, Dances i' the wind, where never eagle flew ; "And still her feet, no less than the sweet tune To which they moved, seemed as they moved to blot The thoughts of him who gazed on them; and soon "All that was, seemed as if it had been not; And all the gazer's mind was strewn beneath Her feet like embers; and she, thought by thought, "Trampled its sparks into the dust of death; As the day upon the threshold of the east Treads out the lamps of night, until the breath "Of darkness re-illumine even the least Of heaven's living eyes-like day she came, Making the night a dream; and ere she ceased "To move, as one between desire and shame Suspended, I said—If, as it doth seem, Thou comest from the realm without a name, "Into this valley of perpetual dream, Show whence I came, and where I am, and why Pass not away upon the passing stream. "Arise and quench thy thirst, was her reply. And as a shut lily stricken by the wand "I rose; and, bending at her sweet command, Touched with faint lips the cup she raised, And suddenly my brain became as sand "Where the first wave had more than half erased The track of deer on desert Labrador; Whilst the wolf, from which they fled amazed, "Leaves his stamp visibly upon the shore, Until the second bursts; so on my sight Burst a new vision, never seen before, "And the fair shape waned in the coming light, As veil by veil the silent splendour drops "Of sunrise, ere it tinge the mountain-tops; And as the presence of that fairest planet, Although unseen, is felt by one who hopes "That this day's path may end as he began it, In that star's smile, whose light is like the scent Of a jonquil when evening breezes fan it, |