Classic Poem

Where did we meet? For years, upon this Earth,
There have been meadows, mountains, seas between;
And yet meseems that in some former birth
I had some Kharma of thy spirit seen.

Wert thou a queen, when I was first enthralled
By the bright spirit in thy body fair?
Wert thou a viking queen, was I a skald
Who wove my harp-strings of thy flaxen hair?

Was I a humble " bonder, " rude and base,
Fief of thy beauty in some wild fiord,
So that I still am bonder to thy face,
Still bounden to the mistress I adored?

Or were we children born of the same sire,
So that altho' I crossed the Northern Sea,
Some smouldering embers of fraternal fire
Leapt into flame again at sight of thee?

Or did I meet thee aeons long ago,
In ages when the amber beads which shine
Upon thy throat, like sunbeams on the snow,
Still oozed and dripped from a primaeval pine?

Familiar — unfamiliar art to me —
Beauty that I have ever loved unseen,
And yet have ever seen, if that can be.
What do the paradox and wonder mean?

Where did we meet? I have forgotten where,
But still with wondering joy I recognise
The golden radiance of familiar hair,
The love and beauty of remembered eyes.