The Date-garden

I dreamt last night you were mine indeed,And I prayed the dream to stay,But this world of ours with reckless hasteRushed on to another day.

I thought we slept on the Desert sands,Where the old date-gardens lie,And a golden mist of quivering starsWas scattered across the sky.

There, in the limitless silences,Where only the jackals live,You were kind to me as you are not kind,And gave what you will not give.

And when the hands were fallen apart,And the longing lips grown loth,A little wind from under the starsCame down and caressed us both.

Then, leaning against your heart, I saidAh, it were a lovely thingIf from this blossoming time of oursSome flower of life should spring.

And though mankind, with its narrow sight,Might christen it child of shame,The people's heart, which is always true,Would give it a sweeter name.

"Love-child": name that is tender with love;With joyous passion and youth.Man's own sad laws have blinded his eyes,But some of us see the truth!

If mine own hand had written my fate,I know I had rather beenFruit of a wild and exquisite loveThan the child of dull routine.

Should I not give to children of yoursCreated in sheer delight,The cool clear soul of this star-lit waste,The peace of the Desert night?

And all our fervour and youth and force,Would they not feel the same?Surely the torch of life should be litAt the whitest heat of the flame!

Lean back, lean back, till your loosened hairLies soft on the Desert sands,That all yourself may abandoned beTo my reverent lips and hands.

When first I saw you, My Well-Beloved,In my secret heart I said,Ah, that the lips might follow the eyesAnd feast where these have fed!

And now that thine own have set mine free(Be still, O, my heart, be still)I only fear that my life may waneBefore they have had their will.

Thus I spoke in the visions of night,As I may not speak by day,But the cruel hours with reckless speedHave carried my dream away.

The night is over, the stars have paled,The magic of sleep has flown,The white-eyed Day, slipping into the world,Found me, as ever, alone.