<h3><SPAN name="Hymn_to_Beauty" id="Hymn_to_Beauty"></SPAN>Hymn to Beauty</h3>
<p class="margin-b">
O Beauty! dost thou generate from Heaven or from Hell?<br/>
Within thy glance, so diabolic and divine,<br/>
Confusedly both wickedness and goodness dwell,<br/>
And hence one might compare thee unto sparkling wine.<br/>
<br/>
Thy look containeth both the dawn and sunset stars,<br/>
Thy perfumes, as upon a sultry night exhale,<br/>
Thy kiss a philter, and thy mouth a Grecian vase,<br/>
That renders heroes cowardly and infants hale.<br/>
<br/>
Yea, art thou from the planets, or the fiery womb?<br/>
The demon follows in thy train, with magic fraught,<br/>
Thou scatter'st seeds haphazardly of joy and doom,<br/>
Thou govern'st everything, but answer'st unto nought.<br/>
<br/>
O Loveliness! thou spurnest corpses with delight,<br/>
Among thy jewels, Horror hath such charms for thee,<br/>
And Murder 'mid thy mostly cherished trinklets bright,<br/>
Upon thy massive bosom dances amorously.<br/>
<br/>
The blinded, fluttering moth towards the candle flies,<br/>
Then frizzles, falls, and falters—"Blessings unto thee"—<br/>
The panting swain that o'er his beauteous mistress sighs,<br/>
Seems like the Sick, that stroke their gravestones lovingly.<br/>
<br/>
What matter, if thou comest from the Heavens or Hell,<br/>
O Beauty, frightful ghoul, ingenuous and obscure!<br/>
So long thine eyes, thy smile, to me the way can tell<br/>
Towards that Infinite I love, but never saw.<br/>
<br/>
From God or Satan? Angel, Mermaid, Proserpine?<br/>
What matter if thou makest—blithe, voluptuous sprite—<br/>
With rhythms, perfumes, visions—O mine only queen!—<br/>
The universe less hideous and the hours less trite.<br/></p>
<hr style="width: 35%;" />
<div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />
1 of 2
2 of 2
Previous
Next
Update Required
To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.