DISAPPOINTMENT

From the drear wastes of unfulfilled desire,
 We harvest dreams that never come to pass,
Then pour our wine amid the dying fire,
 And on the cold hearth break the empty glass.

From the bathing machine came a din
As of jollification within;
It was heard far and wide,
And the incoming tide
Had a definite flavour of gin.

Sun-swept beaches with a light wind blowing
From the immense blue circle of the sea,
And the soft thunder where long waves whiten —
These were the same for Sappho as for me.
Two thousand years — much has gone by forever,
Change takes the gods and ships and speech of men —
But here on the beaches that time passes over
The heart aches now as then.

From house to house he goes,
A messenger small and slight;
And whether it rains or snows,
He sleeps outside in the night.

From falsehood and error,
From darkness and terror,
From all that is evil,
From the power of the devil,
From the fire and the doom,
From the judgement to come —
Sweet J ESU , deliver
Thy servants for ever.

From a little seed
A flower grows.
From a little flower
A fragrance blows —
A little fragrance
That's wafted to me
As I lie in the shade
Of the chestnut tree.

Friend sparrow, do not eat, I pray
The little buzzing flies that play
Among my flowers.

Why should my heart
remain stained
by blossoms,
when I thought
I had tossed all that away?

Friend Col and I, both full of whim,
To shun each other oft agree;
For I'm not beau enough for him,
And he's too much a beau for me.
Then let us from each other fly,
And arm in arm no more appear;
That I may ne'er offend your eye,
That you may ne'er offend my ear.

Framed in the cavernous fire-place sits a boy,
Watching the embers from his grandsire's knee:
One sees red castles rise, and laughs with joy;
The other marks them crumble, silently.