Not love thee!—ah! How much I loved.
Long absent, years of grief have proved.
But I would not passion’s victim be,
And turned from sin, but not from thee.
My love was pure, no plant of earth
From my rapt being sprung to birth:
I loved as angels might adore,
And sought or wished or hoped no more.
Fly, Messenger, fly!
Into the hearts of men and women fly!
Darting lightning from your eyes!
Light-riding, showering glory, fly,
Bearing the torch of Liberty high!
Pierce the earth and rend the skies,
Beyond where, when and why,
I am the all, all, all am t
Fly messenger fly!
Joy! joy! The news, Good bye!
My Lord! My Liege! My Self!
Why other talks and thoughts?
Why dream of what is not?
I’ll have Thee by my side
And break up all besides.
Break, break the pen that writes
Let the inkstand break!
Why tantalize, O Dear
Let everything break!
The heart, break it down
The head, volatile it up
I need no curtain to hide
No walls to imprison my breath
Oh! Break! Break! Break!
Break O Frame! Break O Flesh!
Let me blow the ribs of chest!
Wait! I shatter my bones to dust!
And let breeze of Freedom make a storm of it.
* * * * * * *
No toning down!
No piping of my steam!
No imprisoning of my madness!
Free! Free! No means to hold me
Let God contrive!
For I will not be held down:
I will not suffer bondage for the God or for the world.
Tone me not, I will break the Steam Engine,
Tone me not, I will burst the Pipe,
Tone me not, I will tear the world
Tone me not, I will break the bosom of
God and fly!
Tone me not, I will confront him if he dare face me to bind,
Tone me not, my Lightning shall tear the skies and seas.
Tone me not, I will break open all limitations
All doors will I unlock,
All veils will I shatter to pieces,
All forts I will batter down,
All mountains I will powder to dust
All cities and worlds, suns and moon,
All Gods, angels, nymphs,
I will have under my feet and walk majestically dancing o’er their heads!
O Details! I will dance on your stretched bodies.
O plans! I will leave you behind
O Time! O Space! O Ether! O God!
I will leave you behind
Tone me not through storms to tone I say
Tone me not in brains, for I will make it mad,
Tone me not m heart, for I will scatter it pieces, Tone me not in body, for I will make a cyclone of it.
Tone me not in world, for I will burst the bubble,
I will let open the secret of God
I will declare his jugglery.
I will have put him to blush by making him naked.
O Dear! No more afraid of world,
No more trying to fly away
I take the forms one by one, quaff the wine and drop the cup.
O weeping cups! O breaking cups!
Forgive, forgive! Intoxication breaks you all, not I,
* * * * * * *
Have you not understood me?
Thy winds come to fan me!
Thy suns come to lave me!
Thy seas roll to sing to me!
Thy creations like Theatre are before me!
Thy rivers curb their pride and rub their brows before me!
Thou too standest ready at beck and call
What art Thou? What am I? And what this all?
Am I mortal? Or art Thou God?
Dost Thou love me and am I beloved?
What is this after all?
I come to know I am Beauty.
I come to know I am beloved of God
I am one whom all Gods pine for
I am one whom all stars shine for
I am one! I am one.
“What is Science but a kind
Of wantonness and luxury of the mind;
A greediness and gluttony of the brain,
That longs to eat forbidden fruit again;
And grows more desperate like the worst’ diseases Upon the nobler part, the mind it seizes