The Poetical Works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning Volume I Part 3

_Adam._ Because with _her_, I stand Upright, as far as can be in this fall, And look away from heaven which doth accuse, And look away from earth which doth convict, Into her face, and crown my discrowned brow Out of her love, and put the thought of her Around me, for an Eden full of birds, And lift her body up--thus--to my heart, And with my lips upon her lips,--thus, thus,-- Do quicken and sublimate my mortal breath Which cannot climb against the grave's steep sides But overtops this grief.

_Eve._ I am renewed.

My eyes grow with the light which is in thine; The silence of my heart is full of sound.

Hold me up--so! Because I comprehend This human love, I shall not be afraid Of any human death; and yet because I know this strength of love, I seem to know Death's strength by that same sign. Kiss on my lips, To shut the door close on my rising soul,-- Lest it pa.s.s outwards in astonishment And leave thee lonely!

_Adam._ Yet thou liest, Eve, Bent heavily on thyself across mine arm, Thy face flat to the sky.

_Eve._ Ay, and the tears Running, as it might seem, my life from me, They run so fast and warm. Let me lie so, And weep so, as if in a dream or prayer, Unfastening, clasp by clasp, the hard tight thought Which clipped my heart and showed me evermore Loathed of thy justice as I loathe the snake, And as the pure ones loathe our sin. To-day, All day, beloved, as we fled across This desolating radiance cast by swords Not suns,--my lips prayed soundless to myself, Striking against each other--"O Lord G.o.d!"

('Twas so I prayed) "I ask Thee by my sin, "And by thy curse, and by thy blameless heavens, "Make dreadful haste to hide me from thy face "And from the face of my beloved here "For whom I am no helpmeet, quick away "Into the new dark mystery of death!

"I will lie still there, I will make no plaint, "I will not sigh, nor sob, nor speak a word, "Nor struggle to come back beneath the sun "Where peradventure I might sin anew "Against thy mercy and his pleasure. Death, "O death, whatever it be, is good enough "For such as I am: while for Adam here, "No voice shall say again, in heaven or earth, "_It is not good for him to be alone_."

_Adam._ And was it good for such a prayer to pa.s.s, My unkind Eve, betwixt our mutual lives?

If I am exiled, must I be bereaved?

_Eve._ 'Twas an ill prayer: it shall be prayed no more; And G.o.d did use it like a foolishness, Giving no answer. Now my heart has grown Too high and strong for such a foolish prayer, Love makes it strong and since I was the first In the transgression, with a steady foot I will be first to tread from this sword-glare Into the outer darkness of the waste,-- And thus I do it.

_Adam._ Thus I follow thee, As erewhile in the sin.--What sounds! what sounds!

I feel a music which comes straight from heaven, As tender as a watering dew.

_Eve._ I think That angels--not those guarding Paradise,-- But the love-angels, who came erst to us, And when we said 'G.o.d,' fainted unawares Back from our mortal presence unto G.o.d, (As if he drew them inward in a breath) His name being heard of them,--I think that they With sliding voices lean from heavenly towers, Invisible but gracious. Hark--how soft!

CHORUS OF INVISIBLE ANGELS.

_Faint and tender._

Mortal man and woman, Go upon your travel!

Heaven a.s.sist the human Smoothly to unravel All that web of pain Wherein ye are holden.

Do ye know our voices Chanting down the Golden?

Do ye guess our choice is, Being unbeholden, To be hearkened by you yet again?

This pure door of opal G.o.d hath shut between us,-- Us, his s.h.i.+ning people, You, who once have seen us And are blinded new!

Yet, across the doorway, Past the silence reaching, Farewells evermore may, Blessing in the teaching, Glide from us to you.

_First Semichorus._ Think how erst your Eden, Day on day succeeding, With our presence glowed.

We came as if the Heavens were bowed To a milder music rare.

Ye saw us in our solemn treading, Treading down the steps of cloud, While our wings, outspreading Double calms of whiteness, Dropped superfluous brightness Down from stair to stair.

_Second Semichorus._ Or oft, abrupt though tender, While ye gazed on s.p.a.ce, We flashed our angel-splendour In either human face.

With mystic lilies in our hands, From the atmospheric bands Breaking with a sudden grace, We took you unaware!

While our feet struck glories Outward, smooth and fair, Which we stood on floorwise, Platformed in mid-air.

_First Semichorus._ Or oft, when Heaven-descended, Stood we in our wondering sight In a mute apocalypse With dumb vibrations on our lips From hosannas ended, And grand half-vanis.h.i.+ngs Of the empyreal things Within our eyes belated, Till the heavenly Infinite Falling off from the Created, Left our inward contemplation Opened into ministration.

_Chorus._ Then upon our axle turning Of great joy to sympathy, We sang out the morning Broadening up the sky, Or we drew Our music through The noontide's hush and heat and s.h.i.+ne, Informed with our intense Divine: Interrupted vital notes Palpitating hither, thither, Burning out into the aether, Sensible like fiery motes.

Or, whenever twilight drifted Through the cedar ma.s.ses, The globed sun we lifted, Trailing purple, trailing gold Out between the pa.s.ses Of the mountains manifold, To anthems slowly sung: While he,--aweary, half in swoon For joy to hear our climbing tune Transpierce the stars' concentric rings,-- The burden of his glory flung In broken lights upon our wings.

[_The chant dies away confusedly, and LUCIFER appears._

_Lucifer._ Now may all fruits be pleasant to thy lips, Beautiful Eve! The times have somewhat changed Since thou and I had talk beneath a tree, Albeit ye are not G.o.ds yet.

_Eve._ Adam! hold My right hand strongly! It is Lucifer-- And we have love to lose.

_Adam._ I' the name of G.o.d, Go apart from us, O thou Lucifer!

And leave us to the desert thou hast made Out of thy treason. Bring no serpent-slime Athwart this path kept holy to our tears!

Or we may curse thee with their bitterness.

_Lucifer._ Curse freely! curses thicken. Why, this Eve Who thought me once part worthy of her ear And somewhat wiser than the other beasts,-- Drawing together her large globes of eyes, The light of which is throbbing in and out Their steadfast continuity of gaze,-- Knots her fair eyebrows in so hard a knot, And down from her white heights of womanhood Looks on me so amazed,--I scarce should fear To wager such an apple as she plucked Against one riper from the tree of life, That she could curse too--as a woman may-- Smooth in the vowels.

_Eve._ So--speak wickedly!

I like it best so. Let thy words be wounds,-- For, so, I shall not fear thy power to hurt.

Trench on the forms of good by open ill-- For, so, I shall wax strong and grand with scorn, Scorning myself for ever trusting thee As far as thinking, ere a snake ate dust, He could speak wisdom.

_Lucifer._ Our new G.o.ds, it seems, Deal more in thunders than in courtesies.

And, sooth, mine own Olympus, which anon I shall build up to loud-voiced imagery From all the wandering visions of the world, May show worse railing than our lady Eve Pours o'er the rounding of her argent arm.

But why should this be? Adam pardoned Eve.

_Adam._ Adam loved Eve. Jehovah pardon both!

_Eve._ Adam forgave Eve--because loving Eve.

_Lucifer._ So, well. Yet Adam was undone of Eve, As both were by the snake. Therefore forgive, In like wise, fellow-temptress, the poor snake-- Who stung there, not so poorly!

[_Aside._

_Eve._ Hold thy wrath, Beloved Adam! let me answer him; For this time he speaks truth, which we should hear, And asks for mercy, which I most should grant, In like wise, as he tells us--in like wise!

And therefore I thee pardon, Lucifer, As freely as the streams of Eden flowed When we were happy by them. So, depart; Leave us to walk the remnant of our time Out mildly in the desert. Do not seek To harm us any more or scoff at us, Or ere the dust be laid upon our face, To find there the communion of the dust And issue of the dust,--Go!

_Adam._ At once, go!

_Lucifer._ Forgive! and go! Ye images of clay, Shrunk somewhat in the mould,--what jest is this?

What words are these to use? By what a thought Conceive ye of me? Yesterday--a snake!

To-day--what?

_Adam._ A strong spirit.

_Eve._ A sad spirit.

_Adam._ Perhaps a fallen angel.--Who shall say!

_Lucifer._ Who told thee, Adam?

_Adam._ Thou! The prodigy Of thy vast brows and melancholy eyes Which comprehend the heights of some great fall.

I think that thou hast one day worn a crown Under the eyes of G.o.d.

_Lucifer._ And why of G.o.d?

_Adam._ It were no crown else. Verily, I think Thou'rt fallen far. I had not yesterday Said it so surely, but I know to-day Grief by grief, sin by sin.

_Lucifer._ A crown, by a crown.