Songs of the Springtides and Birthday OdeTaken from The Collected Poetical Works of Algernon CharlesSwinburne—Vol. III
The singing soul that moves thee, and that moved

When thou wast woman, and their songs divine

Who mixed for Grecian mouths heaven's lyric wine

Fell dumb, fell down reproved

Before one sovereign Lesbian song of thine.

That soul, though love and life had fain held fast,

Wind-winged with fiery music, rose and past

Through the indrawn hollow of earth and heaven and hell,

As through some strait sea-shell

The wide sea's immemorial song,—the sea

That sings and breathes in strange men's ears of thee

How in her barren bride-bed, void and vast,

Even thy soul sang itself to sleep at last.

To sleep? Ah, then, what song is this, that here

Makes all the night one ear,

One ear fulfilled and mad with music, one

Heart kindling as the heart of heaven, to hear

A song more fiery than the awakening sun

[Pg 321]

Sings, when his song sets fire


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