Ballade — Lilith
Lady, around thy throat
Gleameth the one gold hair;
And none that hath taken note
Of the first that he looked on fair,
The moment his boyish air
Was moved by that mystic breeze,
But hath felt the spell of thy presence there,
Lilith, the first Love sees!
We sail in an open boat,
’Mid breakers that rage and tear,
And ply the oars by rote
As over the waves we fare,
But never a moment dare
Gaze down at the Form by our knees,
For her eyes that thro’ Self and thro’ Soul do stare,
Lilith, the first Love sees!
Circle of wall and moat,
Vain as the thought to wear
Cunning of knightly coat
Steely and tempered rare,
Against her mute despair;
For none there is who frees
His soul from her spell, who hath all in care,
Lilith, the first Love sees!
L’ Envoi.
Maid without mate or pair,
From the Past’s pale Presences,
Who is there but next his heart doth bear
Lilith, the first Love sees!
John Cameron Grant.