I sat in the Muses’ Hall at the mid of the day,
And it seemed to grow still, and the people to pass away,
And the chiselled shapes to combine in a haze of sun,
Till beside a Carrara column there gleamed forth One.
She was nor this nor that of those beings divine,
But each and the whole–an essence of all the Nine;
With tentative foot she neared to my halting-place,
A pensive smile on her sweet, small, marvellous face.
“Regarded so long, we render thee sad?” said she.
“Not you,” sighed I, “but my own inconstancy!
I worship each and each; in the morning one,
And then, alas! another at sink of sun.
“To-day my soul clasps Form; but where is my troth
Of yesternight with Tune: can one cleave to both?”
– “Be not perturbed,” said she. “Though apart in fame,
As I and my sisters are one, those, too, are the same.
– “But my loves go further–to Story, and Dance, and Hymn,
The lover of all in a sun-sweep is fool to whim –
Is swayed like a river-weed as the ripples run!”
– “Nay, wight, thou sway’st not. These are but phases of one;
“And that one is I; and I am projected from thee,
One that out of thy brain and heart thou causest to be –
Extern to thee nothing. Grieve not, nor thyself becall,
Woo where thou wilt; and rejoice thou canst love at all!
(Thomas Hardy)
More Poetry from Thomas Hardy:
Thomas Hardy Poems based on Topics: Love, Sadness, Faces, Morning, Fame, Dancing, Running, Sisters, People- I have lived with shades (Thomas Hardy Poems)
- A King's Soliloquy [On the Night of His Funeral] (Thomas Hardy Poems)
- I said to love (Thomas Hardy Poems)
- A Dream Or No (Thomas Hardy Poems)
- A Jog-Trot Pair (Thomas Hardy Poems)
- Between us now (Thomas Hardy Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Love Poems, Sadness Poems, Faces Poems, Morning Poems, People Poems, Fame Poems, Running Poems, Dancing Poems, Sisters PoemsBased on Keywords: troth, gleamed, column, swayed, marvellous, combine, clasps, tentative, regarded, neared, projected
- The Song Of Hiawatha XII: The Son Of The Evening Star (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Poems)
- Afternoon At A Parsonage (Jean Ingelow Poems)
- Poems - Written On The Deaths Of Three Lovely Children (Jean Ingelow Poems)
- The Passion Of Dido For Aeneas (John Denham Poems)
- The Pastoral, Or Lyric Muse Of Scotland. Canto First (Hector MacNeill Poems)