WHEREIN THERE IS NO SOLACE IN NATURE

Not summer stars in a hushed violet sky
Throbbing, nor white sails on a violet sea,
Nor glittering knights riding through greenery,
Nor long-eyed stags that dizzily flash by,
Nor tidings that could make a dead man cry,
Nor Love apparelled in royal melody,
Nor, by soft fountains beside grass and tree,
Girls tall as angels singing where they lie —
Of these may none ever unlock my heart
Well fastened with the dust of her slim hands
Beneath the stone that spilled my light at length
O life, what bliss it were to wrench apart!
My will burns to her, though it understands
How she despoiled and stripped it of its strength.