Page:Collected poems Robinson, Edwin Arlington.djvu/97

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COLLECTED POEMS

And he wonders yet what her love could be
To punish him after that strife so grim;
But the longer he lives with her eyes to see,
The plainer it all comes back to him.

TWO MEN

There be two men of all mankind
That I should like to know about;
But search and question where I will,
I cannot ever find them out.

Melchizedek, he praised the Lord,
And gave some wine to Abraham ;
But who can tell what else he did
Must be more learned than I am.

Ucalegon, he lost his house
When Agamemnon came to Troy;
But who can tell me who he was—
I'll pray the gods to give him joy.

There be two men of all mankind
That I'm forever thinking on:
They chase me everywhere I go,—
Melchizedek, Ucalegon.

VILLANELLE OF CHANGE

Since Persia fell at Marathon,
The yellow years have gathered fast:

Long centuries have come and gone.

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