WIXLIB

PRESS NOTICES"'TWIXT EARTH AND STARS"" MissShe has a gift of expressionis a poet.not infrequently spontaneous, and her rhythmsare really musical. Moreover, the level of her book is uniformlyand sympathy are rehigh. In writing of nature her to yourNearly every poem contains something which clingsThe main note issets you thinking.joyous youth, thankful for the right to exist in such amemory and.vigorous,lovely world."IfMiss Radclyffe-Hall acquires a higherfinishshemaycon-offidently look forward to taking her place among the poetessesthis country. It is not often one can so honestly recommend theThe Queen, 4th July, 1906.public to buy a volume of poetry."—"Theauthor of'Twixt Earth andStars'has a real talent forversification, and the subjects chosen are all poetical, added towhich she has real feeling and the power to express it. I am socharmed with this little book of poems that I cannot help recom-mendingitto you, thatyou also may enjoyit."— TheLady,5th July, 1906."Alittle book of short poems, most of which are very pleasbeing marked by sincerity and sweetness."— EveningStandard, 21st July, 1906.ant,"''Twixt Earth and Stars'some of whichseller,is28th Julyis a daintyof considerable merit."1906.littlevolume ofverse,— Publisher and Book-

A SHEAF OF VERSES

A SHEAF OF VERSESPOEMSBYMARGUERITE RADCLYFFE-HALLAUTHOR OF "'TWIXT EARTH AND STARS"JOHN AND EDWARD BUMPUS LTD.350 OXFORD STREET, LONDON, W.MCMVIIl

DEDICATED TOSAD DAYS AND GLAD DAYS322398

CONTENTSPAGEKinshipThe Moon's MessageOn a Battle Fieldi24ToThe All-Mother's AwakeningA Summer ThoughtMoth to the Flame.6710nFancyThe Two AngelsIn the Hardt WaldThe Quest of the White HeatherOne NightA. Twilight121315.1821A Welcome22White ButterfliesThoughtsThe Cloud and the Mountain23.2627An August Night29Spring HopesMy Choice3130In Couples32ix

PAGEHouse Hunting33Re-incarnationOde to SapphoIncompatible35Confidence41Found Wanting43In Darkness44Brother Filippo453639An Autumn RideBefore Dawn52My5756CastleMalvernTo my little Cousin5860TrepidationAt Meissen61Winter on the Zuyder ZeeArdour.626467A Complaint68The Laying of GhostsTo a Baby6972O Lady Mine73Butterfly74ToA Windy June7576Hollyhocks78The Truth7980A Mountain PathA Pearl Necklace81x

1'AGETo Roses

A SHEAF OF VERSESKINSHIPSunlight and shade,Moorland and glade,Evening and day,Winter and May,Troubadour rn of the Spring,Thrushes that singPassionate notesFrom downyBe unto methroats,Each one of yeSister or brother;AndEarth bemymother!

THE MOON'S MESSAGEThe Moon lookedAnd smiled as IShelay like a frailin at thewindow,wrote to you,white maiden,In shadowy folds of blue.Her bosom was bare andtender,And slight, for she still was young,And down from her dainty shouldersAmantle of starlight hung.She wooed with a wanton ardourThe winds till they lulled to sighs,And night was transformed with beauty,For love of her limpideyes.The soul of the cloudy darknessAwakened beneath her beams,The sky swooned away with longing,The Earth stirred in tender dreams.2

Alas!for themoon wascruel,Far colder than snow was she,Her heart was a burnt-out Planet,Herlightbut a fallacy:And she looked at my open letter,And called from her couch on high,"Pray give my love to my SisterWho is even more cold than I."

ON A BATTLE FIELDOnceo'er this hillJust you andAmidI,whereon we stand,handclasp'd inhandthe silence, and the space,Amighty battle rent the air,With dying curse and choking prayer;'Mid shot and shell death stalked apace.Isitconceivable to youSo muchatpeace—— because we twoAre close together, orThesilent beauty of theSeemslikeAglowAlittleAsa Heaven-granted boon,mist of hazy bluecity'sfrom our viewdomes andslender spires,thro' a bridal veil theSubdued and shyTheme?with tender ecstasy.Is slowly hidingThetonoonlightssunone by onevirgin clouds with blushing4fires.

The windWehas fallen; very lowHe creeps away to dream andHow sweet to be alone, to feelYouAIsknowhear his wings brush past, andrest;breathe one longing sigh, and steallittlecloser tomybreast.anything worth while but this?not perish for a kiss,We mayYet thusWarAnditwere not hard to die!strews the earth with countless dead,after all isThe endisdone andlove,said,and you andI!

TOTheworld that thro'itsvale of tearsLooks out upon EternityHas yet one smile for us, and weStillyouthful in the count of years,May addOflife,our smiles, and kiss theforwhosoeverlipssipsThe wine within that ruddy bowlHas quaffed defiance to the spheres.Beloved, see, I drink theretoAnd!pass the goblet on to you.

THE ALL-MOTHER'S AWAKENINGTo-day theHasAstill,deep mind of the Earthin longing her wistful eyes,steepedsense of wonder and glad surpriseThrills thro' her heart with a thought of birth.The grave All-Mother looks up and smiles,Her breath comes balmy from sunlit mouth,Her bosom bare to the ardent southIsfanned by perfume fromfruitful miles.All winter long has the dear Earth sleptIndrifts ofHersnow, 'neath the bane ofchildren sought for theYet found herx\llnot,andwinter long haveinmyMotherfrost,lost,anguish wept.senses criedFor warmth of sun, and the blue of sky,The hard north answered to mock my sigh,Andallthe glory oflife7denied.

Thecold mists drifting on land and sea,Like ghosts of passions burnt out andSmoteThatheartcastitsThe dankand soul with thechill,fear ofill,awfulness over me.graysails,and the dank grayThey melted each in the other'sshore,face,With clammy kiss, in a wan embraceThat left them colder than e'en before.Andthro' theThesap flowed sluggish, or notboughs of the moss-growntreesat all,While here and there would a deadleaffall,Like thought of harrowing memories.Then fromthe heart of the UniverseThere rose awail ofunending woe,An anguished prayer from the deeps below:"Oh Mother, lift from our souls the curse!"!"Oh! Mother, quickenWiththy sacredwomb,fire that throbs in the veins of Spring,Behold the numbness of everything,And only thou can avert the doom.""Oh!Mother, hear usThe Earthslept on, as8"!itButweresilentstillin death.

Her ice-bound bosomSoIIIfaststirred not with breath,she lay 'neath the winter'swill.my prayer to the wind and trees,joined my cry to the striving soil," OhMother, our endless toilsaid,joined!Has made" RiseupRise upWeWe!us sicken with miseries.!and help us againuncover thyto live,fruitful breast,faint in winter's unrestful rest,burn with longings to love and give."Andas I spokeThancame a voice more strongall creation's, o'erland and seaIt calledour Mother to ecstasy,Andshe stirred,SheAndlo!who hadslept so long.she opened her drowsy eyes,bending down from the dome above,stirred,Beheld the form of embodied Love,As Spring stepped Earthward from Paradise.

A SUMMER THOUGHTIoften thinkFor purerthat all those vast desiresjoys, that thrill thehumanheart,Vague yearnings such as solitude inspires,That nameless something silence can impart,Couldafter allWhosebe quenched by simple things,spiritsdwell within the wide-eyed flowers,Or haunt deep glades, where scent of primroseAbout the garments of the passing hours.10clings

MOTH TO THE FLAMEMothto the flame!Fool that you be,Life 's but a game,Loveisthe same,Better go freeMoth!to the fire!Madnessyour' fateBurnt ofdesire,;Ifyou expire,Joy comes tooMothlate.to the kissBringing you death"Gladly!for thisAgonized bliss,With my last breathWillAsIadorene'er before!"FoolishMothiisaith.

A TWILIGHT FANCYDear, give me thetips of your fingershold in this scented gloom,To'Midthe sighs of the dying roses,ThatIstealthrough the breeze-swept roomwould have you butAInlightlystirphantom mightpassing, of somelost loveritsWithOr ajustsuch abutterflyfaint caress;wan with summerBrush thus withThetouch me,the dress,hisdown-flecked wingsbells of the altar liliesHetouches,andlightly rings.So give me the tips of your fingers,Not your hand, lest I break the spellOftheAndmomentlosewith toowhatImuchpassion,love so well.12;

THE TWO ANGELSOnce Youth andInnocence, side byWith flaming swordsStood forthatside,a garden gatein silence, towatch andwait,Lest lust and evil their might defied.fruits in thatLove's rarestAndloGrown!garden grew,a Pilgrim of pain and sinwould gladly have enteredtired,in,And washedhis soul in theHeYouth, and the Angel saidyoung, and behold me weaklooked" Beholdatmegleaming dew.:you but crush me, the joy you seekShall quench desire on a rose-strewn bed,If"Yet oh! I pray you another hour,For should you enter this Holy place,MyAndgiven again to space,must die as a blighted flower."soulIis13:

ThenallThatlifeand all the shame,had taught him to understand,Rose up, and fettered the Pilgrim's hand,And murmur'd: "Youth is a sacred name."Hethe sorrowat Innocence, nude and white,unconscious she met his gaze;lookedAndallHer eyes were soft as an evening haze,Her red lips fashioned to give delight.She sighed, " I know not the boon youBut Nature sent me to guard the wayThat leads to realms of Eternal day;Imayask,not shrink from the Mother's task."Yet these fair limbs that are pure as snow,Should you but sully by thought or deedMust droop and fade as a broken reed,That every wind of the earth may blow."Thenallthe goodness that he had missed,Each dream of sweetnessthat passedhimby,up, and cried: "Thou shalt still denyThyself" and Innocence stood unkissed.Rose—14

THE HARDT WALDINAroad disusedthesemanyyears,O'er which the grass has grownBetween two rows ofThatsilent pines,stretch in straight,Awayto plainsruts that passingLongunbrokenlinesunknown.wagons madeIn days whose records dietrenches for the frailer flowers,FormThat timid of more open bowersSecureAndinin thoseWheredeep impressionsmeet the day,sprays of golden-rod,Mid sunbeams slanting thro'The ardent AfternoonSteals like a lover fond,Uponthere,in dainty green array,faces turned toGrow'lie.patient beasts have trod,With stemsAndhidingthewoodand dumb,his mistress Earth, o'ercomeWith many a tender boon15;

And that she sooner shall respondTo his awakening fires,He summons from each fairy gladeWee winged things, to serenadeThis nymph ofSohis desires.of mystic powerfullandlifeIs this forgotten placeThatMymayIscarcely dare intrudepresence andLest steppingSomeImylightermood,defacemasterpiece of moss or bloom,That Dryad hands have wrought,Perchance my very humannessMay makeThatI fearto treadForItthispotent charm theless,solitude has taught.ifupon a branch,beneathmyfeetbreaks 'twould thus affright the birdWhosetender musicIhave heardIn yonder green retreat;16

And who amI that Ishould dareGainsay the Noon's behest;Orpenetrate this peaceful sphere,And bring an agony of fearTo some dumbWithinAnthis forest nightendlessFromcreature's breast?hymnand dayof praiseout the heart of Nature wells,That once again perfection dwellsIn her profaned ways,Thatliving green conceals the scarsMade byrelentlessman,Whilein the deepest sylvan gladesSoundfaintTheandfar thro'emerald shadescrystal pipes of Pan.i7

THE QUEST OF THE WHITE HEATHERSchwartz WaldIsoughtatdawnfor the sweet white heather,In hiding among the blue,The earth was warm with the summerThe flowers still damp with dew.Imoved aATwostone withtiny streams to each other talkingallthat Icamealone on the side of the mountain!mehelpto gathersomeSweet Morning, showAso near.spoke to the new-born Day,IOhfoot in walking,lizard ran out in fear,ComplainedAndmyweather,merare white heathertheway!big stag beetle crawled close in wonder,grasshopper chirped of rain,AApushing some flowers asunderBuzzed loud in his vast disdain.beejust18