Classic Poem

Beautiful as a wave before it breaks,
And troubling as a wave when it has broken,
You are as one whose luring spirit wakes
Desire so deep it never can be spoken.
You are as one to whom men sing a paean
Of praise, then long to strangle with wild throes;
For the body of you is as a thing Circean,
Your heart a mystery that no man knows.

Beautiful as a gull that breasts the waters
Then goes upon swift wings across the sea,
You are as one of Time's eternal daughters
Who never give desire satiety.
Your feet go through the hearts of men, and flowers
Of passion spring, to haunt them till they die;
For you were framed by the elusive powers
That made Eve for more bliss than Eden sigh.