Already the shrill lark is out of sight,
Flooding with waves of song this silent dell,—­
Ah! there is something more in that bird’s flight
Than could be tested in a crucible!—­
But the air freshens, let us go, why soon
The woodmen will be here; how we have lived this night of June!

Poem:  Requiescat

Tread lightly, she is near
Under the snow,
Speak gently, she can hear
The daisies grow.

All her bright golden hair
Tarnished with rust,
She that was young and fair
Fallen to dust.

Lily-like, white as snow,
She hardly knew
She was a woman, so
Sweetly she grew.

Coffin-board, heavy stone,
Lie on her breast,
I vex my heart alone,
She is at rest.

Peace, Peace, she cannot hear
Lyre or sonnet,
All my life’s buried here,
Heap earth upon it.

AVIGNON

Poem:  Sonnet On Approaching Italy

I reached the Alps:  the soul within me burned,
Italia, my Italia, at thy name: 
And when from out the mountain’s heart I came
And saw the land for which my life had yearned,
I laughed as one who some great prize had earned: 
And musing on the marvel of thy fame
I watched the day, till marked with wounds of flame
The turquoise sky to burnished gold was turned. 
The pine-trees waved as waves a woman’s hair,
And in the orchards every twining spray
Was breaking into flakes of blossoming foam: 
But when I knew that far away at Rome
In evil bonds a second Peter lay,
I wept to see the land so very fair.

Turin.

Poem:  San Miniato

See, I have climbed the mountain side
Up to this holy house of God,
Where once that Angel-Painter trod
Who saw the heavens opened wide,

And throned upon the crescent moon
The Virginal white Queen of Grace,—­
Mary! could I but see thy face
Death could not come at all too soon.

O crowned by God with thorns and pain! 
Mother of Christ!  O mystic wife! 
My heart is weary of this life
And over-sad to sing again.

O crowned by God with love and flame! 
O crowned by Christ the Holy One! 
O listen ere the searching sun
Show to the world my sin and shame.

Poem:  Ave Maria Gratia Plena

Was this His coming!  I had hoped to see
A scene of wondrous glory, as was told
Of some great God who in a rain of gold
Broke open bars and fell on Danae: 
Or a dread vision as when Semele
Sickening for love and unappeased desire
Prayed to see God’s clear body, and the fire
Caught her brown limbs and slew her utterly: 
With such glad dreams I sought this holy place,
And now with wondering eyes and heart I stand
Before this supreme mystery of Love: 
Some kneeling girl with passionless pale face,
An angel with a lily in his hand,
And over both the white wings of a Dove.