Erotica/Regeneration
Regeneration
Lo! Love leaned o'er thy cradle at thy birth,
And laid his lips on thine a moment's space,
Breathing faint laughter and desire of mirth
Into thy soul, and something not of earth
Now mocks me from thy face.
Fain would I raise an answer in those eyes
My hungry eyes look into, but there lurks
Low laughter in their depths, like radiant skies
That from their azure battlements despise
Earth's earnest toilsome works.
They float above the knowledge of things gross,
Serenely still and smiling through the void,
And yet methinks theirs is an unknown loss,
Not theirs contrasted peace, nor tempests' toss
Followed by calms enjoyed.
So will I pray that Love's lips set their seal
Once more on thine, that thou be born again
Of this earth earthy; let Love's lips reveal
Secrets of laughter turned to tears and deal
Out Love's delicious pain.