Endymion
When the noble son of Zeus
Asked the gift of youth immortal,
Little wot he of the ages
Stretching onward from life’s portal;
Tho’ he walked with gods, he wearied,
Wished for rest, intense and deep,—
Asked another gift of Zeus;
That of everlasting sleep.
And his thoughtless wish was granted;
Glad he hushed his soul’s repining
In the winged god’s misty vapors
And, on Latmos’ height reclining,
Laid down all earth’s cares and trials—
All its wearying heat and strife,
Yet within his dormant being,
Held the essences of life.
Fair Selene, robed in beauty,
Wandering forth in loneliness,
Bent above the youth admiring—
Touched him with a light caress;
And her gazing woke his spirit
To a dream’s ecstatic bliss,
As her lips, with tender fondness,
Snatched from his that holy kiss.
And her heart’s new, quickened pulsing
Thrilled along love’s unseen wires,—
Stirred in him responsive passion,—
Lit his soul’s electric fires.
Then the roused, enrapt Endymion,
Shaking off the slumbrous air,
Cried,—“Ye gods, take back your giving,
All life’s perils I will dare;
Wake my soul to keenest feeling,
Let its sense of pleasure reign,
Tho’ my path were paved with spear-points
I would count the waking gain.”
Glad he left the heights so longed for,
Sought the lowland’s balmy air,
Leading her, the loved Selene,
Thro’ the flowery valleys fair,
Where the paths all flash with diamonds
From the jewelled crown of Night,—
Where the lake upon his bosom
Rocks the sleeping lillies white,
And his lullaby in whispers
Floating thro’ the leafy dell,
Mingling with perfume and zephyr
Wove a sweet entrancing spell.
And ’twas there at Sylva’s altar,
With the gazing stars above,
Soul to soul, by mute impulsion,
That they pledged eternal love;
Ay, ’twas then the spheric paean,
Through the great expanses spread,
When in Beauty’s listening stillness,
Peace and Purity were wed.
And tonight I see them roaming
Thro’ the flowery paths of eld—
Thro’ the valley, by the lakelet,
Where their nuptial feast was held;
Where the moon-beams dance with shadows,
In the hushed, half-hidden glen,
Shunning Mammon’s crowded cities
And the busy walks of men.
But linger not too long, Selene,—
Hasten from thy lover’s side,
Or, in fleecy cloud-wrought vesture
From the gaze of Eos hide;
Else like darkly mantled Pleiad,
Wailing robes of forfeit glory,
Thou wilt find thy charms are stolen
By the jealous, fair Aurora.
Hasten, hasten, for she cometh,—
Venus bright doth herald now,
All Jove’s pageantry attends her,
Erse’s gems bedeck her brow,
And her royal robes are ’broidered
Rich with rose and amethyst;—
Hasten, but with thine Endymion
Keep the holy evening tryst.