A Woman, and Some Men
Once in a dream of Babylon
I sat with Lilith and Cain
At the world-old drama, “From God to God,”
In the House of Things Profane;
Trumpets and lights, and the players
Swung to the stage, and then
I saw as I looked in their faces
A woman, and some men.
Men with the eyes of the psalmist,
Men with the hearts of Saul,
Strong with the wine of valor,
But faint with the woman’s thrall;
Calm were her eyes as she held them
Charmed to her soulless sway,
For she had the face of the Magdalene,
And the heart of Aholiba.
Wine and kisses and gusty words,
Kisses and wine again,
And her lips and brow were red with stains
From the hairy mouths of men,
Red as the stain on the brow of Cain
That burned with his Maker’s hate,
Or the lips of the witch that Adam loved
Ere God revealed his mate.
Trumpets and lights and the players
Swung from the stage, and then
The curtain fell on the drama
Of a woman and some men;
While cleaving the dome of the temple
Fell the Avenger’s rod,
And lo! when I looked again I saw
We were face to face with God.
And Lilith, the witch, dropped down and prayed
That her child a soul might have,
And the blood red stain on the brow of Cain
Be wiped out in the grave;
And this was my dream of Babylon
When I sat with Lilith and Cain
At the world-old drama, “From God to God,”
In the House of Things Profane.