Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHIMERA III Another moon ! and over the blue night She bendeth, like a holy spirit bright, Through stars that veil them in their wings of gold; As on she floateth with her image cold Enamell’d on the deep. A sail of cloud Is to her left, majestically proud ! Trailing its silver drapery away In thin and fairy webs, that are at play Like stormlcss waves upon a summer sea Dragging their length of waters lazily. Ay ! to the rocks ! and thou wilt see, I wist, A lonely one, that bendeth in the mist Of moonlight, with a wild and raven pall Flung round him. Is he mortal man at all ? For, by the meagre fire-light that is under Those eyelids, and the vizor shade of wonder Falling upon his features, I would guess, Of one that wanders out of blessedness ! Julio ! raise thee !?By the holy mass! I wot not of the fearless one would pass Thy wizard shadow. Where the raven hair Was shorn before, in many a matted layer It lieth now; and on a rock beside The sea, like merman at the ebb of tide, Feasting his wondrous vision on Decay, So art thou gazing over AgathS ! Ah me ! but this is never the fair girl, With brow of light, as lovely as a pearl, That was as beautiful as is the form Of sea-bird at the breaking of a storm. The eye is open, with convulsive strain? A most unfleshly orb ! the stars that wane Have nothing of its hue; for it is cast With sickly blood, and terribly aghast! And sunken in its socket, like the light Of a red taper in the lonely night! And there is not a braid of her bright hair But lieth floating in the moonlight air, Like the long moss, beside a silver spring, In elfin tresses, sadly murmuring. The worm hath ‘gan to crawl upon her brow? The living worm ! and with a ripple now, Like that upon the sea, are heard below, The slimy swarms all ravening…
