Classic Poem

The Governante

" Look not on the infinite wave,
Dream not of the siren cave,
Nor hear the cold wind in the tree
Sigh of worlds we cannot see.

(She sings)

The hot muscatelle
Siesta time fell,
And the Spanish belle
Looked out through her shutters.

Under the eglantine
Thorny and lean
A shadow was playing a mandoline, mutters

Only this: " Wave
Your fan . . . siren cave
Never was cold as the wind from the grave. "

The governante
Came walking andante —
Sailed like a brigantine, black of brow.

And the falconette
Who danced a ballette
Sang on the pretty, the brunette bough:

" The ambassade
Of shadows invade
Death's most ultimate, peaceful shade. . . .
Lovely lady, where are you now? "
...

Come, Madam, you must eat your creamy curd,
Soft as the plumage of a bird —

Break through the jeweled branches' bird-soft gloom
And find Malinn within the cool still room."