I have felt darkness lead me by the hand
Over the hill to greet the singing dawn;
Have watched neat clouds garmenting heaven's land,
Flecking the sky like ladies on a lawn;
Bought pearls in the mart and rare white laces
Made by the harlot for the virgin's waist;
I have seen cities, deserts; kissed dim faces;
Dreamed in old temples; known the sea's harsh taste.
And from the depths of coffered memory
I give you these — passions of little men,
Knowing at last the untold part of me
Like an old song heard once and lost, and then
A wizened countenance, forgetting pain;
A light, a twisted thought, a shattered brain.