,
Unsheathed the narroW sword,
I sat to keep off the lmpetuous Impotent dead,
Ttll I should hear Tlreslas
But first Elpenor came, our frIend Elpenor,
Unbuned, cast on the wlde earth,
Llmbs that we left In the house of CIrce,
Unwept, unwrapped 10 sepulchre, smce tOlls urged other PItIful splnt And I cned 10 hurrIed speech
.
Unsheathed the narroW sword,
I sat to keep off the lmpetuous Impotent dead,
Ttll I should hear Tlreslas
But first Elpenor came, our frIend Elpenor,
Unbuned, cast on the wlde earth,
Llmbs that we left In the house of CIrce,
Unwept, unwrapped 10 sepulchre, smce tOlls urged other PItIful splnt And I cned 10 hurrIed speech
.
Cantos-of-Ezra-Pound
?
other books by EZRA POUND
COLLECTED SHORTER POEMS
SELECTED POEMS 19081959
SELECTED CANTOS OF EZRA POUND
DRAFTS AND FRAGMENTS OF CANTOS CX CXVII PISAN CANTOS
THE CLASSIC ANTHOLOGY DEFINED BY CONFUCIUS
LITERARY ESSAYS OF EZRA POUND (edited by T S Eltot)
SELECTED PROSE 1909 1965 ( edIted by WIllIam Cookson)
ABC OF READING
TRANSLATIONS OF EZRA POUND SOPHOCLES WOMEN OF TRACHIS
THE SELECTED LETTERS OF EZRA POUND 1907 19 II (edIted by D D PaIge)
? THE CANTOS OF EZRAPOUND
FABER AND FABER ? LONDON
? Collected edItIOn (Cantos I 84) FlCst publIshed In I954 Second ImpressIon I957
New Collected edmon (Cantos I 109) published m I964
Second ImpressIon I968
ReVISed Collected edItIon (Cantos 1 published In 1975
by Faber & Faber LImIted
3 Queen Square London WCI
1 17 )
Pnnted 10 the Umted States of Amenca
(C) 1975 The Ezra Pound Literary Property Trust
ISBN 0571048978 (hard bound edmon) ISBN 0571048986 (Faber Paperbacks)
All nghts reserved Except for brIef passages quoted In a newspapt. r magazme, radIO, or televIsIon reVIew, no part of thIS book may be rt. produced In any form or by any means, elcctromc or mechaOlcal meludlng photOCOPYIng and recording, or by any information storagt and lemeval system WIthout permIssIon 10 wrltlng from tht Publlsh,r
? CONTENTS
A Draft of XXX Cantos (1930) I Eleven New Cantos XXXI-XLI (1934) 151 The FIfth Decad of Cantos XLII-LI (1937) 207 Cantos LII-LXXI (1940) 253 The Plsan Cantos LXXIV-LXXXIV (1948) ~P3
SectIon Rock-Dnll De Los Cantares LXXXV-XCV
(1955) 541
Thrones de los Cantares XCVI-CIX (1959) 649 Drafts and Fragments of Cantos CX-CXVII (1969) 775
? A DRAFT OF XXX CANTOS
? I
AD then went down to the ship,
Set keel to breakers, forth on the godly sea, and We set up mast and sax! on that swart ship, Bore sheep aboard her, and our bodies also Heavy wlth weep1Og, and wmds from sternward
Bore us out onward WIth bellymg canvas,
Cxrce's thiS craft, the trxm-colfed goddess
Then sat we amidshIps, wmd Jamnung the tIller,
Thus with stretched sail, we went over sea till day's end Sun to hiS slumber, shadows o'er all the ocean,
Came we then to the bounds of deepest water,
To the Kxmmenan lands, and peopled cities
Covered Wlth close-webbed mist, unplerced ever
With glItter of sun-rays
Nor With stars stretched, nor lookmg back from hea\en Swartest mght stretched over wretched men there
The ocean flowmg backward, came we then to the place Aforesaid by Cuce
Here did they rites, Penmedes and Eurylochus,
And drawmg sword from my hip
I dug the ell-square pltkm,
Poured we hbatlons unto each the dead,
First mead and then s~eet WIne, water mixed With whIte flour Then prayed I many a prayer to the SIckly death's-heads,
As set m Ithaca, sterlle bulls of the best
For sacrIfice, heap10g the pyre With goods,
A sheep to Txreslas only, black and a bell-sheep
Dark blood flowed 10 the fosse,
Souls out of Erebus, cadaverous dead, of brIdes
Of youths and of the old who had borne much,
Souls stamed WIth recent tears, gIrls tender,
3
? Men many, mauled wlth bronze lance heads, Battle spoll, beanng yet dreory arms,
These many crowded about me, wIth shoutmg, Pallor upon me, cned to my men for more beasts, Slaughtered the helds, sheep slam of bronze, Poured omtment, cned to the gods,
To Pluto the strong, and praIsed ProserpIm. ,
Unsheathed the narroW sword,
I sat to keep off the lmpetuous Impotent dead,
Ttll I should hear Tlreslas
But first Elpenor came, our frIend Elpenor,
Unbuned, cast on the wlde earth,
Llmbs that we left In the house of CIrce,
Unwept, unwrapped 10 sepulchre, smce tOlls urged other PItIful splnt And I cned 10 hurrIed speech
. . Elpenor, how art thou come to thIS dark coast~
. . Cam'st thou afoot, outstnppmg seamen'> . .
And he 10 heavy speech
. . III fate and abundant wme I slept 10 Clrce's 109Ie
. . Gomg down the long ladder unguarded,
. . I fell agamst the buttress,
. . Shattered the nape-nerve, the soul sought Avel nus
. c But thou, 0 Kmg, I bId remember me, unwept, unbuned, . . Heap up mIne arms, be tomb by sea-bord, and mscnbt. . d cc A man of no fortune, and with a name to come
cc And set my oar up, that I swung mId fellows"
And Anttdea came, whom I beat off, and then Tlreslas Theban, Holdmg Ius golden wand, knew me, and spoke first
. . A second tlIDe'> why'> man of III star,
t< Facmg the sunless dead and thlS Joyless reglon~
t< Stand from the fosse, leave me my bloody bever . . For soothsay "
And I stepped back,
And he strong wlth the blood, saId then . . Odysseus
4
? ? ? Shalt return through splteful Neptune, over dark seas, ? ? Lose all compamons" And then Antlclea came
LIe qUiet DIVUS I mean, that IS Andreas DIVUS,
In officma Wecheh, 1538, out of Homer
And he sailed, by Sltens and thence outward and away And unto Cltce
V enerandam,
In the Cretan's phrase, With the golden crown, AphrodIte,
Cyprl mummenta sortita est, mIrthful, otlchalchl, With golden GIrdles and breast bands, thou wIth dark eyelIds
Beanng the golden bough of ArgIclda So that
? HANG It all, Robert Browmng,
there can be but the one . . Sordello " But Sordello, and my Sordello~
Lo Sordels SI fo dl Mantovana
So-shu churned In the sea
Seal sports m the spray-whIted circles of chff-wash, Sleek head, daughter of 11r,
eyes of Picasso
Under black fur-hood, hthe daughter of Ocean, And the wave runs In the beach-groove
ct Eleanor, ~XEPaliS and ehE7l"TohtS' "
And poor old Homer bhnd, blInd, as a bat,
Ear, ear for the sea-surge, murmur of old men's vOlces
. . Let her go back to the shlPs,
Back among GreClan faces, lest eVlI come on our own, EVil and further evu, and a curse cursed on our children, Moves, yes she moves lIke a goddess
And has the face of a god
and the vOice of Schoeney's daughters, And doom goes wlth her lD walkmg,
Let her go back to the ships,
back among Grecian vOIces"
And by the beach-run, Tyro,
TWisted arms of the sea-god,
Llthe smews of water, gnppmg he~, cross-hold, And the blue-gray glass of the wave tents them, Glare azure of water, cold-welter, close cover QUiet sun-tawny sand-stretch,
The gulls broad out thelr WIngs,
mppmg between the splay feathers,
II
6
? Smpe come for thelI' bath,
bend out theIr wmg-Jomts,
Spread wet wmgs to the sun-film, And by SClOS,
to left of the Naxos passage, Naviform rock overgrown,
alg-e clIng to Its edge,
There IS a wme-red glow m the shallows,
a tm flash m the sun-dazzle
The shIp landed m SClOS,
men wantmg spring-water,
And by the rock-pool a young boy loggy WIth vme-must, . . To N axos') Yes, we'll take you to Naxos,
Cum' along lad" tc Not that way' " co Aye, that way 15 Naxos"
And I saId . . It's a straIght shIp" And an ex-convIct out of Italy
knocked me mto the fore-stays,
(He was wanted for manslaughter 111 Tuscany)
And the whole twenty agamst me, Mad for a lIttle slave money
And they took her out of SCIOS And off her course
And the boy came to, agalll, WIth the racket, And looked out over the bows,
and to eastward, and to the Naxos passage God-sleIght then, god-sleIght
ShIP stock fast m sea-swIrl, Ivy upon the oars, Kmg Pentheus,
grapes wlth no seed but sea-foam, Ivy 111 scupper-hole
Aye, I, Acretes, stood there,
and the god stood by me,
Water cuttmg under the keel,
7
? Sea-break from stern forrards,
wake runnIng off from the bow,
And where was gunwale, there now was vine-trunk, And tenthru where cordage had been,
grape-leaves on the rowlocks, Heavy Vine on the oarshafts,
And. out of nothmg, a breathmg, hot breath on my anh. les,
Beasts hke shadows m glass,
a furred tall upon nothmgness
Lynx-purr, and heathery smell of beasts, where tar smell had been,
Smff and pad-foot of beasts, eye-ghtter out of black aIr
The sky overshot, dry, WIth no tempest, Sruff and pad-foot of beasts,
fur brushmg my knee-skm, Rustle of aIry sheaths.
dry forms m the (l! ther And the shIp lIke a keel In shIp-yard,
slung lIke an ox m smIth's slIng, Ribs stuck fast m the ways,
grape-cluster over pm-rack,
VOId air takmg pelt LIfeless alr become smewed,
felIne leISure of panthers,
Leopards snrffing the grape shoots by scupper-hole, Crouched panthers by fore-hatch,
And the sea blue-deep about us,
green-ruddy 111 shadows.
And Ly~us ? ? From now, Acretes, my altars, Fearing no bondage,
fearIng no cat of the wood, Safe WIth my lynxes,
feed111g grapes to my leopards, 8
? Ohbanum IS my Incense,
the VInes grow m my homage"
The back-swell now smooth In the rudder-chams, Black snout of a porpOIse
where Lycabs had been, FISh-scales on the oarsmen
And I worshIp
I have seen what I have seen
When they brought the boy I saId to He has a god m h1l11,
though I do not know whIch god" And they kIcked me mto the fore-stays
I have seen what I have seen
Medon's face lIke the face of a dory, Arms shrunk Into fins And you, Pentheus, Had as well hsten to Tlreslas, and to Cadmus,
or your luck w1l1 go out of you FIsh-scales over grom muscles,
lynx-purr amId sea And of a later year,
pale In the wIne-red algre, If you wIll lean over the rock,
the coral face under wave-t1Oge, Rose-paleness under water-shIft,
Ileuthyena, faIr Dafne of sea-bords, The SW1l11mer's arms turned to branches, Who wIll say 10 what year,
fleeIng what band of tntons, The smooth brows, seen, and half seen,
now Ivory stIllness
And So-shu churned In the sea, So-shu also, USIng the long moon for a churn-stIck
LIthe turmng of water, smews of PoseIdon,
9
? Black azure and hyalIne,
glass wave over Tyro,
Close cover, unsttllness,
btlght welter of wave-cords,
Then qUlet water,
qUlet m the buff sands,
Sea-fowl stletchmg wmg-Jomts,
splaslung 10 rock-hollows and sand-hollows
In the wave-runs by the half-dune,
Glass-ghnt of wave 1D the tide-rips agalnst sunlIght,
pallor of Hesperus, Grey peak of the wave,
wave, colour of grape's pulp,
Ohve grey m the near,
far, smoke grey of the rock. -shde,
Salmon-pInk WlOgS of the fish-hawk cast grey shadows 1D water,
The tower hke a one-eyed gle'tt goose cranes up out of the ohvc-gro~e,
And we have heard the fauns eluding Proteus
m the smell of hay under the ohve-trees.
And the frogs slngmg against the fauns In. the half-hght
And
10
? III
ISAT on the Dogana's steps
For the gondolas cost too much, that year,
And there were not" those girls ", there was one face, And the Buccentoro twenty Y'lrds off, howhng . . Strettl ",
And the lIt cross-beams, that year, In the MOrOSlnl,
A n d peacocks 10 KOle's house, 0 1 there may have been
Gods float In the 'lzure alt,
Bnght gods and Tuscan, hack before dew was shed Light and the first lIght, before ever dew was fallen Pamsks, and from the oak, dryas,
And from the apple, mrehd,
Through all the wood, and the leaves are full of VOices, A-whisper, and the clouds howe over the lake,
And there are gods upon them,
And 10 the water, the almond-white SWimmers,
The SlIvery water glazes the upturned mpple,
As POgglO has remarked Green vems In the turquoIse,
Or, the gray steps lead up under the cedars
My CId rode up to Burgos,
Up to the studded gate between two towers,
Beat wIth hiS lance butt, and the child came out,
Una mna de nueve anos,
To the httle gallery over the gate, between the towers, Readmg the Writ, voce t10nula
That no man speak to, feed, help Ruy Dlaz,
On pam to have hIS heart out, set on a pike spIke
And both hIS eyes torn out, and all hIS goods sequestered, ? ? And here, Myo Cld, are the seals,
The big seal and the wntIng "
And he caIre down from Blvar, Myo Cld,
II
? WIth no hawks left there on theIr perches, And no clothes there m the presses,
And left hIs trunk wIth Raquel and Vidas, That bIg box of sand, wIth the pawn-brokers, To get pay for hIs menIe,
Breakmg hIs way to ValencIa
Ignez da Castro murdered, and a wall
Here strIpped, here made to stand
Drear waste, the pIgment flakes from the stone, Or plaster flakes, Mantegna pamted the wall Sxlk tatters, "Nee Spe Nee Metu 'J
I2
? IV
PALACE In smoky lIght,
Troy but a heap of smoulderIng boundary stones, ANAXIFORMINGES' Aurunculela'
Hear me Cadmus of Golden Prows'
The slIver mIrrors catch the bnght stones and flare, Dawn, to our waklOg, dnfts I n the green cool hght, Dew-haze blurs, In the grass, pale ankles movmg Beat, beat, whIrr, thud, In the soft turf
under the apple trees,
Choros nympharum, goat-foot, WIth the pale foot alternate, Crescent of blue-shot waters, green-gold In the shallows,
A black cock crows In the sea-foam,
And by the curved, carved foot of the couch, claw-foot and hon head, an old man seated
Speakmg In the low drone Ityn'
Et ter fleblhter, Ityn, Ityn'
And she went toward the WIndow and cast her down,
Itynl
cc All the whue, the whIle, swallows cry10g
cc It 15 Cabestan's heart 10 the dIsh" . . It IS Cabestan's heart In the dlsh)
cc No other taste shall change thIS . .
And she went toward the Window, the shm whIte stone bar
Makmg a double arch,
FIrm even fingers held to the :firm pale stone, Swung for a moment,
and the wmd out of Rhodez Caught In the full of her sleeve
the swallows cryIng 13
? 'TIS 'TIS YtIS' Acta:on
and a valley,
The valley IS thIck wIth leaves, wIth leaves, the trees, The sunlIght glItters, glItters a-top,
Like a :fish-scale roof,
LIke the church roof In POlctlers If It were gold
Beneath It, beneath It
Not a ray, not a shvver, not a spare dISC of sunlIght Flakmg the black, soft water,
Bathing the body of nymphs, of nymphs, and DIana, Nymphs, whIte-gathered about her, and the aIr, aIr, Shakmg, aIr alIght WIth the goddess,
fanmng theIr haIr m the dark, LIftmg, lIftIng and waffing
Ivory dIppmg In stiver, Shadow'd, o'ershadow'd
Ivory dIppIng m stiver,
Not a splotch, not a lost shatter of sunlIght Then Acta:on VIdal,
VIdal It IS old VIdal speaking,
stumblIng along In the wood,
Not a patch, not a lost shImmer of sunlIght,
the pale haIr of the goddess
The dogs leap on Acta:on,
" HIther, hIther, Acta:on,"
Spotted stag of the wood, Gold, gold, a sheaf of hair,
ThIck hke a wheat swath, Blaze, blaze m the sun,
The dogs leap on Acta:on 14
? Stumblmg, stumblmg along m the wood, Muttenng, muttenng OVid
. . Pergusa pool pool Gargaphla, . . Pool pool of Salmacls "
The empty armour shakes as the cygnet moves
Thus the lIght rams, thus pours, e [0 solezlls plovll The hqUld and rushmg crystal
beneath the knees of the gods Ply over ply, thm ghtter of water,
Brook film beanng white petals The pme at Takasago
grows with the pme of Ise'
The water whIrls up the bnght pale sand m the sprIng's mouth . . Behold the Tree of the VIsages' "
Forked branch-tips, flammg as If wIth lotus
Ply over ply The shallow eddymg flUid,
beneath the knees of the gods
Torches melt m the glare
set flame of the corner cook-stall,
Blue agate casmg the sky (as at Gourdon that tme) the sputter of resm,
Saffron sandal so petals the narrow foot Hymenreus 10' Hymen, 10 Hymena:e' AuruncuIeIa'
One scarlet flower IS cast on the blanch-whIte stone
And So-Gyoku, saymg
? ? Tlus WInd, srre, IS the kmg's wmd,
Tlus WInd 18 wmd of the palace, Shakmg ImperIal water-Jets . .
And HSIang, openmg hiS collar . . ThIS WInd roars m the earth's bag,
It lays the water WIth rushes" IS
? No WInd lS the kIng's WInd
Let every cow keep her calf
~cTlus WInd IS held 10 gauze curtains " No w1nd 1S the kIng's
The camel drIvers Sit In the turn of the stairs, Look down on Ecbatan of plotted streets,
. . Danae' Danae'
What WInd IS the kIng's'> . .
Smoke hangs on the stream,
The peach-trees shed bnght leaves In the water, Sound drifts In the eventng haze,
The bark scrapes at the ford, Gut rafters above black water,
Three steps In an open field, Gray stone-posts leadIng
Pere Henri Jacques would speak Wlth the Sennm, on Rokku, Mount Rokku between the rock and the cedars,
Polhonac,
As Gyges on Thraclan platter set the feast,
Cabestan, Tereus,
It IS Cabestan's heart 10 the dish,
Vldal, or Ecbatan, upon the gIlded tower In Ecbatan Lay the god's bride, lay ever, waiting the golden raIn By Garonne . . Saave' . .
The Garonne 15 truck hke palOt,
Process10n, - cc Et sa'ave, sa'ave, sa'ave Regma! " - Moves lIke a worm, 10 the crowd
Adlge, thIn :film of unages,
Across the Adlge, by Stefano, Madonna 10 hortulo, As Cavalcantt had seen her
The Centaur's heel plants 10 the earth loam And we Sit here
there 10 the arena
z6
? v
GEAT bulk, huge mass, thesauru'),
Ecbatan, the clock tIcks and fades out
The bnde awaltmg the god's touch, Ecbatan, CIty of patterned streets, agam the VISIon Down In the VIa: strada:, toga'd the crowd, and arm'd, RushIng on populous bUSIness,
and from parapet looked down
and North was Egypt,
the celestIal Nue, blue deep,
cuttxng low barren land, Old men and camels
workmg the watet-wheels, Measureless seas and stars,
Iambhchus' hght,
the souls ascendmg,
Sparks hke a partndge covey,
LIke the . . CIOCCO " , brand struck I n the game
tt Et omniformIS" AIr, fire, the pale soft lIght Topaz I manage, and three sorts of blue,
but on the barb of tIme
The fire'> always, and the VlSlon always,
Ear dull, perhaps, WIth the VISIon, fhttxng
And fadmg at WIll Weavmg WIth pomts of gold, Gold-yellow, saffron The roman shoe, Aurunculeta's
And come shufflIng feet, and crIes" Da nuces'
c. Nuces' " praISe, and Hymena:us . . bnngs the gul to her man . . Or . . here Sextus had seen her . .
TItter of sound about me, always
and from . . Hesperus "
Hush of the older song . . Fades hght from sea-crest, . . And m LydIa walks With palr'd women
. . Peerless among the paIrs, that once m SardIS
17
? " In satIetIes
Fades the lIght flom the sea, 'lnd man) th Ilgs
. . Are set abroad and brought to nund of thee,"
And the vmestocks he untended, llew leaves come to the shoots, North wmd mps 011 the bough, and seas m heal t
Toss up chIll crests,
And the vme stocks he untended
And many thlOgs are set abroad and blOught to mlOd Of thee, Atthls, unfrUltful
The talks ran long m the mght
And from Mauleon, fresh wIth a new earned grade, In maze of approachmg ram-steps, POlcebot-
The aIr was full of women,
And Savamc Mauleon
Gave hIm hIs land and kmght's fee, and he wed the woman Came lust of travel on hml, of 1omerya,
And out of England a kmght wIth slow-hftmg eyelIds
Let fassa lurar a del, put gl1mour upon her
And left her an eIght months gone
. . Came lust of woman upon hIm," POlcebot, now on North road from Spam
(Sea-change, a grey m the water)
And 10 small house by town's edge
Found a woman, changed and famihar face, Hard nIght, and pattmg at mormng
And Plelte won the 51Ogmg, Pleite de Maensac,
Song or land on the throw, and was drcftz hom
And had De TierCl's WIfe and wIth the war they made
Troy m Auvergnat
Wlule Menelaus ptled up the church at port
He kept Tyndarlda Dauph10 stood wIth de Maensac
John BorgIa IS bathed at last (Clock-tIck pIerces the VISIon) TIber, dark WIth the cloak, wet cat gleammg 10 patches
18
? Chck of the hooves, through garbage,
ClutchIng the greasy stone cc And the cloak floated . . Slander lS up betImes
But Varchl of Florence,
Steeped In a dIfferent year, and pondermg Brutus, Then c. l;t")'a p. aX' aVOLS 8EVTEpa. VI
. . Dog-eye" " (to Alessandro)
. . Whether for love of Florence," Varchl leaves It, Saymg . . I saw the man, came up WIth hIm at Venice,
. . I, one wantmg the facts,
. . And no mean labour Or for a pnvy SpIte';) . .
Our Benedetto leaves It,
But ? ? I saw the man Se PZtz';)
rr 0 empta';l For LorenzacclO had thought of stroke m the open But uncertaIn (for the Duke went never unguarded)
. . And would have thrown him from wall
. . Yet feared thiS mIght not end hIm," or lest Alessandro Know not by whom death came, 0 se credesse
. . I f when the foot shpped, when death came upon hun,
. . Lest COUSIn Du1. . e Alessandro thmk he had fallen alone,
. . No fnend to aId hIm m fallmg"
Cazna attende
The lake of Ice there below me
And all of thIS, runs Varchl, dre~med out beforehand In Perugla, caught In the star-maze by Del Carmme, Cast on a natal paper, set WIth an exegesIS, told,
All told to Alessandro, told thnce over,
Who held hIS death for a doom
In abulela But Don Lorenzmo
Whether for love of Florence but
. . 0 se morose, credesse caduto da se "
l;l-ya. , (fl,,),a
SchIaVOnI, caught on the wood-barge,
GIves out the afterbIrth, GIOVannI BorgIa,
TraIls out no more at nights, where Barabello
19
? Prods the Pope's elephant, and gets no crown, where MozarelJo Takes the Calabnan roadway, and for endmg
Is smothered beneath a mule,
a poet's endmg,
Down a stale well-hole, oh a poet's endmg "Sanazarro
. . Alone out of all the court was faIthful to hIm"
For the gOSSIp of Naples' trouble drIfts to North,
Fracastor (lIghtnmg was mtdw1fe) Cotta, and Ser D'Alv1ano, AI poco glorno ed al gran cerchlo d'ombra,
Talk the talks out With NaVlghero,
Burner of yearly Martlals,
(The slavelet IS mourned m vam)
And the next comer says to Were nme wounds,
. . Four men, whIte horse Held on the saddle before hIm " Hooves clmk and shck on the cobbles
SchIaVOnI cloak . . Smk the damn thmg' . .
Splash wakes that chap on the wood-barge
TIber catchtng the nap, the moonlIt velvet,
A wet cat gleamIng 1n patches
cc Se pIa," VarchI, cc 0 empla, ma rtsoluto
cc E ternbtle dehberazlone "
Both saymgs run m the wmd.
Ma se mortsse'
20
? VI
WHAT you have done, Odysseus,
We know what you have done
And that Gu:tllaume sold out hIs ground rents
(Seventh of POltlers, NInth of AqultaIn) to Tant las fotel com aUZIrets
c. Cen e quatre vIngt et velt vetz "
The stone IS ahve In my hand, the crops wxll be thIck In my death-year
T:tll LOUIS IS wed wIth Eleanor
And had (He, Guxllaume) a son that had to wIfe The Duchess of Normandla whose daughter
Was wIfe to KIng Henry e maire del reI Jove
Went over sea t:tll day's end (he, LOUIS, Wlth Eleanor) ComIng at last to Acre
to Ongla, oncle " salth Arnaut
Her uncle commanded In Acre,
That had known hel In gIrlhood (Theseus, son of Aegeus)
And he, LOUIS, was not at ease In that town, And was not at ease by Jordan
As she rode out to the palm-grove
Her scarf In Saladln's C1mler
DIvorced her 10 that year, he LOUIS, dlvorclng thus Aqultalne
And that year Plantagenet marrxed her (that had dodged past 17 swtors)
Et quand 10 reIS LOIS 10 entendlt mout er fasche
N auphal, VeXls, Harry Joven
In pledge for all hIS hfe and Me of all hIS heIrs Shall have GISOrs, and Vexls, Neufchastel
But If no ISSue GISOrs shall revert
? . . Need not wed Ahx m the name
Tuntty holy mdlvlslble RIchard our brother Need not wed Allx once hIs father's ward and But whomso he choose for Ahx, etc
Eleanor, domna Jauzionda, mother of RIchard,
Turnmg on thtrty years (wd have been yeals before tht:. ) By nver-marsh, by gallened church-porch,
Malemorte, Correze, to whom
? ? My Lady of Ventadour . . Is shut by Ebhs 10
cc And wtll not hawk nor hunt
nor get her free 10 the aIr
cc Nor watch fish nse to baIt
c. Nor the glare-Wlllg'd flIes alIght In the creek's edge ? ? Save 10 my absence, Madame
? Que 1a lauzeta mover' . . Send word I ask you to Ebhs
you have seen that maker
. . And finder of songs so far afield as thIS " That he may free her,
who sheds such lIght In the aIr"
E 10 Sordels Sl fo dt Mantovana,
Son of a poor kmght, Sler Escort,
And he delIghted hImself 10 chan~ons
And mIxed WIth the men of the court
And went to the court of RIchard Samt Bontface And was there taken WIth love for hIS WIfe
Cumzza, da Romano That freed her slaves on a Wednesday
Masnatas et servos, witness PICUS de Farmatls
and Don Ehnus and Don Llpus
sons of Farmato de' Farmatl
? CC free of person, free of wIll
cc free to buy, WItness, sell, testate" A manto subtraxlt lpsam
dictum Sordellum concubulsse
(C Wmter and Summer I smg of her glace, As the rose IS faIr, so faIr 15 hel face,
Both Summer and Wmter I SlOg of her, The S'10W makyth me to remember her"
And Calrels was of Sarlat
Theseus from Troezene And they wd have given hIm pOlson
But for the shape of hIS sword-hIlt
? VII
ELEANOR (she spoued In a Bntish clImate) VEAa. v6pos and 'EAE'II"TOALS, and
poor old Homer blmd,
blmd as a bat, Ear, ear for the sea-surge,
rattle of old men's VOiceS And then the phantom Rome,
marble narrow for seats ct 51 pulVlS nullus" saId OVId,
c. Erlt, nullum tamen excute"
Then :file and candles, e II mestiers ecoutes,
Scene for the battle only, but stUl scene,
Pennons and standards y cavals armatz
Not mere succesSIon of strokes, SIghtless narratIon,
And Dante's . . CIOCCO," brand struck m the game Un peu molSl, plancher plus bas que Ie JardIn
. . Contre Ie lambns, fautewl de paIlle,
. . Un Vleux plano, et sous Ie barometre "
The old men's VOICes, beneath the columns of false marble, The modISh and darkIsh walls,
PlScreeter gdrung, and the panelled wood
Suggested, for the leasehold IS
Touched With an lffipreCISlon about three squares, The house too thtck, the palntIngs
a shade too oued
And the great domed head, eon gIl oeem onestt e tard, Moves before me, phantom With weIghted motIon, Grave meessu, dnnkIng the tone of thIngs,
And the old vOice hfts Itself
weavlng an endless sentence
? We also made ghostly VISIts, and the staIr
That knew us, found us agam on the turn of It, Knockmg at empty rooms, seekmg for buned beauty, And the sun-tanned, gracIOus and well-formed fingers LIft no latch of bent bronze, no EmpIre handle
TWIsts for the knocker's fall, no VOIce to answer
A strange conCIerge, m place of the gouty-footed SceptIc agamst all thIS one seeks the hvmg,
Stubborn agamst the fact The wted flowers
Brushed out a seven year SInce, of no effect
Damn the partItIon' Paper, dark brown and stretched, FlImsy and damned part1t1on
lone, dead the long year My hntel, and LlU Ch'e's lmtel
Tlffie blacked out wIth the rubber The Elysee carnes a name on
And the bus behmd me gIves me a date for peg,
Low ce1hng and the Erard and the suver,
These are m tt tlffie" Four cha1rs, the bow-front dresser, The pamer of the desk, cloth top sunk m
.
,
Unsheathed the narroW sword,
I sat to keep off the lmpetuous Impotent dead,
Ttll I should hear Tlreslas
But first Elpenor came, our frIend Elpenor,
Unbuned, cast on the wlde earth,
Llmbs that we left In the house of CIrce,
Unwept, unwrapped 10 sepulchre, smce tOlls urged other PItIful splnt And I cned 10 hurrIed speech
. . Elpenor, how art thou come to thIS dark coast~
. . Cam'st thou afoot, outstnppmg seamen'> . .
And he 10 heavy speech
. . III fate and abundant wme I slept 10 Clrce's 109Ie
. . Gomg down the long ladder unguarded,
. . I fell agamst the buttress,
. . Shattered the nape-nerve, the soul sought Avel nus
. c But thou, 0 Kmg, I bId remember me, unwept, unbuned, . . Heap up mIne arms, be tomb by sea-bord, and mscnbt. . d cc A man of no fortune, and with a name to come
cc And set my oar up, that I swung mId fellows"
And Anttdea came, whom I beat off, and then Tlreslas Theban, Holdmg Ius golden wand, knew me, and spoke first
. . A second tlIDe'> why'> man of III star,
t< Facmg the sunless dead and thlS Joyless reglon~
t< Stand from the fosse, leave me my bloody bever . . For soothsay "
And I stepped back,
And he strong wlth the blood, saId then . . Odysseus
4
? ? ? Shalt return through splteful Neptune, over dark seas, ? ? Lose all compamons" And then Antlclea came
LIe qUiet DIVUS I mean, that IS Andreas DIVUS,
In officma Wecheh, 1538, out of Homer
And he sailed, by Sltens and thence outward and away And unto Cltce
V enerandam,
In the Cretan's phrase, With the golden crown, AphrodIte,
Cyprl mummenta sortita est, mIrthful, otlchalchl, With golden GIrdles and breast bands, thou wIth dark eyelIds
Beanng the golden bough of ArgIclda So that
? HANG It all, Robert Browmng,
there can be but the one . . Sordello " But Sordello, and my Sordello~
Lo Sordels SI fo dl Mantovana
So-shu churned In the sea
Seal sports m the spray-whIted circles of chff-wash, Sleek head, daughter of 11r,
eyes of Picasso
Under black fur-hood, hthe daughter of Ocean, And the wave runs In the beach-groove
ct Eleanor, ~XEPaliS and ehE7l"TohtS' "
And poor old Homer bhnd, blInd, as a bat,
Ear, ear for the sea-surge, murmur of old men's vOlces
. . Let her go back to the shlPs,
Back among GreClan faces, lest eVlI come on our own, EVil and further evu, and a curse cursed on our children, Moves, yes she moves lIke a goddess
And has the face of a god
and the vOice of Schoeney's daughters, And doom goes wlth her lD walkmg,
Let her go back to the ships,
back among Grecian vOIces"
And by the beach-run, Tyro,
TWisted arms of the sea-god,
Llthe smews of water, gnppmg he~, cross-hold, And the blue-gray glass of the wave tents them, Glare azure of water, cold-welter, close cover QUiet sun-tawny sand-stretch,
The gulls broad out thelr WIngs,
mppmg between the splay feathers,
II
6
? Smpe come for thelI' bath,
bend out theIr wmg-Jomts,
Spread wet wmgs to the sun-film, And by SClOS,
to left of the Naxos passage, Naviform rock overgrown,
alg-e clIng to Its edge,
There IS a wme-red glow m the shallows,
a tm flash m the sun-dazzle
The shIp landed m SClOS,
men wantmg spring-water,
And by the rock-pool a young boy loggy WIth vme-must, . . To N axos') Yes, we'll take you to Naxos,
Cum' along lad" tc Not that way' " co Aye, that way 15 Naxos"
And I saId . . It's a straIght shIp" And an ex-convIct out of Italy
knocked me mto the fore-stays,
(He was wanted for manslaughter 111 Tuscany)
And the whole twenty agamst me, Mad for a lIttle slave money
And they took her out of SCIOS And off her course
And the boy came to, agalll, WIth the racket, And looked out over the bows,
and to eastward, and to the Naxos passage God-sleIght then, god-sleIght
ShIP stock fast m sea-swIrl, Ivy upon the oars, Kmg Pentheus,
grapes wlth no seed but sea-foam, Ivy 111 scupper-hole
Aye, I, Acretes, stood there,
and the god stood by me,
Water cuttmg under the keel,
7
? Sea-break from stern forrards,
wake runnIng off from the bow,
And where was gunwale, there now was vine-trunk, And tenthru where cordage had been,
grape-leaves on the rowlocks, Heavy Vine on the oarshafts,
And. out of nothmg, a breathmg, hot breath on my anh. les,
Beasts hke shadows m glass,
a furred tall upon nothmgness
Lynx-purr, and heathery smell of beasts, where tar smell had been,
Smff and pad-foot of beasts, eye-ghtter out of black aIr
The sky overshot, dry, WIth no tempest, Sruff and pad-foot of beasts,
fur brushmg my knee-skm, Rustle of aIry sheaths.
dry forms m the (l! ther And the shIp lIke a keel In shIp-yard,
slung lIke an ox m smIth's slIng, Ribs stuck fast m the ways,
grape-cluster over pm-rack,
VOId air takmg pelt LIfeless alr become smewed,
felIne leISure of panthers,
Leopards snrffing the grape shoots by scupper-hole, Crouched panthers by fore-hatch,
And the sea blue-deep about us,
green-ruddy 111 shadows.
And Ly~us ? ? From now, Acretes, my altars, Fearing no bondage,
fearIng no cat of the wood, Safe WIth my lynxes,
feed111g grapes to my leopards, 8
? Ohbanum IS my Incense,
the VInes grow m my homage"
The back-swell now smooth In the rudder-chams, Black snout of a porpOIse
where Lycabs had been, FISh-scales on the oarsmen
And I worshIp
I have seen what I have seen
When they brought the boy I saId to He has a god m h1l11,
though I do not know whIch god" And they kIcked me mto the fore-stays
I have seen what I have seen
Medon's face lIke the face of a dory, Arms shrunk Into fins And you, Pentheus, Had as well hsten to Tlreslas, and to Cadmus,
or your luck w1l1 go out of you FIsh-scales over grom muscles,
lynx-purr amId sea And of a later year,
pale In the wIne-red algre, If you wIll lean over the rock,
the coral face under wave-t1Oge, Rose-paleness under water-shIft,
Ileuthyena, faIr Dafne of sea-bords, The SW1l11mer's arms turned to branches, Who wIll say 10 what year,
fleeIng what band of tntons, The smooth brows, seen, and half seen,
now Ivory stIllness
And So-shu churned In the sea, So-shu also, USIng the long moon for a churn-stIck
LIthe turmng of water, smews of PoseIdon,
9
? Black azure and hyalIne,
glass wave over Tyro,
Close cover, unsttllness,
btlght welter of wave-cords,
Then qUlet water,
qUlet m the buff sands,
Sea-fowl stletchmg wmg-Jomts,
splaslung 10 rock-hollows and sand-hollows
In the wave-runs by the half-dune,
Glass-ghnt of wave 1D the tide-rips agalnst sunlIght,
pallor of Hesperus, Grey peak of the wave,
wave, colour of grape's pulp,
Ohve grey m the near,
far, smoke grey of the rock. -shde,
Salmon-pInk WlOgS of the fish-hawk cast grey shadows 1D water,
The tower hke a one-eyed gle'tt goose cranes up out of the ohvc-gro~e,
And we have heard the fauns eluding Proteus
m the smell of hay under the ohve-trees.
And the frogs slngmg against the fauns In. the half-hght
And
10
? III
ISAT on the Dogana's steps
For the gondolas cost too much, that year,
And there were not" those girls ", there was one face, And the Buccentoro twenty Y'lrds off, howhng . . Strettl ",
And the lIt cross-beams, that year, In the MOrOSlnl,
A n d peacocks 10 KOle's house, 0 1 there may have been
Gods float In the 'lzure alt,
Bnght gods and Tuscan, hack before dew was shed Light and the first lIght, before ever dew was fallen Pamsks, and from the oak, dryas,
And from the apple, mrehd,
Through all the wood, and the leaves are full of VOices, A-whisper, and the clouds howe over the lake,
And there are gods upon them,
And 10 the water, the almond-white SWimmers,
The SlIvery water glazes the upturned mpple,
As POgglO has remarked Green vems In the turquoIse,
Or, the gray steps lead up under the cedars
My CId rode up to Burgos,
Up to the studded gate between two towers,
Beat wIth hiS lance butt, and the child came out,
Una mna de nueve anos,
To the httle gallery over the gate, between the towers, Readmg the Writ, voce t10nula
That no man speak to, feed, help Ruy Dlaz,
On pam to have hIS heart out, set on a pike spIke
And both hIS eyes torn out, and all hIS goods sequestered, ? ? And here, Myo Cld, are the seals,
The big seal and the wntIng "
And he caIre down from Blvar, Myo Cld,
II
? WIth no hawks left there on theIr perches, And no clothes there m the presses,
And left hIs trunk wIth Raquel and Vidas, That bIg box of sand, wIth the pawn-brokers, To get pay for hIs menIe,
Breakmg hIs way to ValencIa
Ignez da Castro murdered, and a wall
Here strIpped, here made to stand
Drear waste, the pIgment flakes from the stone, Or plaster flakes, Mantegna pamted the wall Sxlk tatters, "Nee Spe Nee Metu 'J
I2
? IV
PALACE In smoky lIght,
Troy but a heap of smoulderIng boundary stones, ANAXIFORMINGES' Aurunculela'
Hear me Cadmus of Golden Prows'
The slIver mIrrors catch the bnght stones and flare, Dawn, to our waklOg, dnfts I n the green cool hght, Dew-haze blurs, In the grass, pale ankles movmg Beat, beat, whIrr, thud, In the soft turf
under the apple trees,
Choros nympharum, goat-foot, WIth the pale foot alternate, Crescent of blue-shot waters, green-gold In the shallows,
A black cock crows In the sea-foam,
And by the curved, carved foot of the couch, claw-foot and hon head, an old man seated
Speakmg In the low drone Ityn'
Et ter fleblhter, Ityn, Ityn'
And she went toward the WIndow and cast her down,
Itynl
cc All the whue, the whIle, swallows cry10g
cc It 15 Cabestan's heart 10 the dIsh" . . It IS Cabestan's heart In the dlsh)
cc No other taste shall change thIS . .
And she went toward the Window, the shm whIte stone bar
Makmg a double arch,
FIrm even fingers held to the :firm pale stone, Swung for a moment,
and the wmd out of Rhodez Caught In the full of her sleeve
the swallows cryIng 13
? 'TIS 'TIS YtIS' Acta:on
and a valley,
The valley IS thIck wIth leaves, wIth leaves, the trees, The sunlIght glItters, glItters a-top,
Like a :fish-scale roof,
LIke the church roof In POlctlers If It were gold
Beneath It, beneath It
Not a ray, not a shvver, not a spare dISC of sunlIght Flakmg the black, soft water,
Bathing the body of nymphs, of nymphs, and DIana, Nymphs, whIte-gathered about her, and the aIr, aIr, Shakmg, aIr alIght WIth the goddess,
fanmng theIr haIr m the dark, LIftmg, lIftIng and waffing
Ivory dIppmg In stiver, Shadow'd, o'ershadow'd
Ivory dIppIng m stiver,
Not a splotch, not a lost shatter of sunlIght Then Acta:on VIdal,
VIdal It IS old VIdal speaking,
stumblIng along In the wood,
Not a patch, not a lost shImmer of sunlIght,
the pale haIr of the goddess
The dogs leap on Acta:on,
" HIther, hIther, Acta:on,"
Spotted stag of the wood, Gold, gold, a sheaf of hair,
ThIck hke a wheat swath, Blaze, blaze m the sun,
The dogs leap on Acta:on 14
? Stumblmg, stumblmg along m the wood, Muttenng, muttenng OVid
. . Pergusa pool pool Gargaphla, . . Pool pool of Salmacls "
The empty armour shakes as the cygnet moves
Thus the lIght rams, thus pours, e [0 solezlls plovll The hqUld and rushmg crystal
beneath the knees of the gods Ply over ply, thm ghtter of water,
Brook film beanng white petals The pme at Takasago
grows with the pme of Ise'
The water whIrls up the bnght pale sand m the sprIng's mouth . . Behold the Tree of the VIsages' "
Forked branch-tips, flammg as If wIth lotus
Ply over ply The shallow eddymg flUid,
beneath the knees of the gods
Torches melt m the glare
set flame of the corner cook-stall,
Blue agate casmg the sky (as at Gourdon that tme) the sputter of resm,
Saffron sandal so petals the narrow foot Hymenreus 10' Hymen, 10 Hymena:e' AuruncuIeIa'
One scarlet flower IS cast on the blanch-whIte stone
And So-Gyoku, saymg
? ? Tlus WInd, srre, IS the kmg's wmd,
Tlus WInd 18 wmd of the palace, Shakmg ImperIal water-Jets . .
And HSIang, openmg hiS collar . . ThIS WInd roars m the earth's bag,
It lays the water WIth rushes" IS
? No WInd lS the kIng's WInd
Let every cow keep her calf
~cTlus WInd IS held 10 gauze curtains " No w1nd 1S the kIng's
The camel drIvers Sit In the turn of the stairs, Look down on Ecbatan of plotted streets,
. . Danae' Danae'
What WInd IS the kIng's'> . .
Smoke hangs on the stream,
The peach-trees shed bnght leaves In the water, Sound drifts In the eventng haze,
The bark scrapes at the ford, Gut rafters above black water,
Three steps In an open field, Gray stone-posts leadIng
Pere Henri Jacques would speak Wlth the Sennm, on Rokku, Mount Rokku between the rock and the cedars,
Polhonac,
As Gyges on Thraclan platter set the feast,
Cabestan, Tereus,
It IS Cabestan's heart 10 the dish,
Vldal, or Ecbatan, upon the gIlded tower In Ecbatan Lay the god's bride, lay ever, waiting the golden raIn By Garonne . . Saave' . .
The Garonne 15 truck hke palOt,
Process10n, - cc Et sa'ave, sa'ave, sa'ave Regma! " - Moves lIke a worm, 10 the crowd
Adlge, thIn :film of unages,
Across the Adlge, by Stefano, Madonna 10 hortulo, As Cavalcantt had seen her
The Centaur's heel plants 10 the earth loam And we Sit here
there 10 the arena
z6
? v
GEAT bulk, huge mass, thesauru'),
Ecbatan, the clock tIcks and fades out
The bnde awaltmg the god's touch, Ecbatan, CIty of patterned streets, agam the VISIon Down In the VIa: strada:, toga'd the crowd, and arm'd, RushIng on populous bUSIness,
and from parapet looked down
and North was Egypt,
the celestIal Nue, blue deep,
cuttxng low barren land, Old men and camels
workmg the watet-wheels, Measureless seas and stars,
Iambhchus' hght,
the souls ascendmg,
Sparks hke a partndge covey,
LIke the . . CIOCCO " , brand struck I n the game
tt Et omniformIS" AIr, fire, the pale soft lIght Topaz I manage, and three sorts of blue,
but on the barb of tIme
The fire'> always, and the VlSlon always,
Ear dull, perhaps, WIth the VISIon, fhttxng
And fadmg at WIll Weavmg WIth pomts of gold, Gold-yellow, saffron The roman shoe, Aurunculeta's
And come shufflIng feet, and crIes" Da nuces'
c. Nuces' " praISe, and Hymena:us . . bnngs the gul to her man . . Or . . here Sextus had seen her . .
TItter of sound about me, always
and from . . Hesperus "
Hush of the older song . . Fades hght from sea-crest, . . And m LydIa walks With palr'd women
. . Peerless among the paIrs, that once m SardIS
17
? " In satIetIes
Fades the lIght flom the sea, 'lnd man) th Ilgs
. . Are set abroad and brought to nund of thee,"
And the vmestocks he untended, llew leaves come to the shoots, North wmd mps 011 the bough, and seas m heal t
Toss up chIll crests,
And the vme stocks he untended
And many thlOgs are set abroad and blOught to mlOd Of thee, Atthls, unfrUltful
The talks ran long m the mght
And from Mauleon, fresh wIth a new earned grade, In maze of approachmg ram-steps, POlcebot-
The aIr was full of women,
And Savamc Mauleon
Gave hIm hIs land and kmght's fee, and he wed the woman Came lust of travel on hml, of 1omerya,
And out of England a kmght wIth slow-hftmg eyelIds
Let fassa lurar a del, put gl1mour upon her
And left her an eIght months gone
. . Came lust of woman upon hIm," POlcebot, now on North road from Spam
(Sea-change, a grey m the water)
And 10 small house by town's edge
Found a woman, changed and famihar face, Hard nIght, and pattmg at mormng
And Plelte won the 51Ogmg, Pleite de Maensac,
Song or land on the throw, and was drcftz hom
And had De TierCl's WIfe and wIth the war they made
Troy m Auvergnat
Wlule Menelaus ptled up the church at port
He kept Tyndarlda Dauph10 stood wIth de Maensac
John BorgIa IS bathed at last (Clock-tIck pIerces the VISIon) TIber, dark WIth the cloak, wet cat gleammg 10 patches
18
? Chck of the hooves, through garbage,
ClutchIng the greasy stone cc And the cloak floated . . Slander lS up betImes
But Varchl of Florence,
Steeped In a dIfferent year, and pondermg Brutus, Then c. l;t")'a p. aX' aVOLS 8EVTEpa. VI
. . Dog-eye" " (to Alessandro)
. . Whether for love of Florence," Varchl leaves It, Saymg . . I saw the man, came up WIth hIm at Venice,
. . I, one wantmg the facts,
. . And no mean labour Or for a pnvy SpIte';) . .
Our Benedetto leaves It,
But ? ? I saw the man Se PZtz';)
rr 0 empta';l For LorenzacclO had thought of stroke m the open But uncertaIn (for the Duke went never unguarded)
. . And would have thrown him from wall
. . Yet feared thiS mIght not end hIm," or lest Alessandro Know not by whom death came, 0 se credesse
. . I f when the foot shpped, when death came upon hun,
. . Lest COUSIn Du1. . e Alessandro thmk he had fallen alone,
. . No fnend to aId hIm m fallmg"
Cazna attende
The lake of Ice there below me
And all of thIS, runs Varchl, dre~med out beforehand In Perugla, caught In the star-maze by Del Carmme, Cast on a natal paper, set WIth an exegesIS, told,
All told to Alessandro, told thnce over,
Who held hIS death for a doom
In abulela But Don Lorenzmo
Whether for love of Florence but
. . 0 se morose, credesse caduto da se "
l;l-ya. , (fl,,),a
SchIaVOnI, caught on the wood-barge,
GIves out the afterbIrth, GIOVannI BorgIa,
TraIls out no more at nights, where Barabello
19
? Prods the Pope's elephant, and gets no crown, where MozarelJo Takes the Calabnan roadway, and for endmg
Is smothered beneath a mule,
a poet's endmg,
Down a stale well-hole, oh a poet's endmg "Sanazarro
. . Alone out of all the court was faIthful to hIm"
For the gOSSIp of Naples' trouble drIfts to North,
Fracastor (lIghtnmg was mtdw1fe) Cotta, and Ser D'Alv1ano, AI poco glorno ed al gran cerchlo d'ombra,
Talk the talks out With NaVlghero,
Burner of yearly Martlals,
(The slavelet IS mourned m vam)
And the next comer says to Were nme wounds,
. . Four men, whIte horse Held on the saddle before hIm " Hooves clmk and shck on the cobbles
SchIaVOnI cloak . . Smk the damn thmg' . .
Splash wakes that chap on the wood-barge
TIber catchtng the nap, the moonlIt velvet,
A wet cat gleamIng 1n patches
cc Se pIa," VarchI, cc 0 empla, ma rtsoluto
cc E ternbtle dehberazlone "
Both saymgs run m the wmd.
Ma se mortsse'
20
? VI
WHAT you have done, Odysseus,
We know what you have done
And that Gu:tllaume sold out hIs ground rents
(Seventh of POltlers, NInth of AqultaIn) to Tant las fotel com aUZIrets
c. Cen e quatre vIngt et velt vetz "
The stone IS ahve In my hand, the crops wxll be thIck In my death-year
T:tll LOUIS IS wed wIth Eleanor
And had (He, Guxllaume) a son that had to wIfe The Duchess of Normandla whose daughter
Was wIfe to KIng Henry e maire del reI Jove
Went over sea t:tll day's end (he, LOUIS, Wlth Eleanor) ComIng at last to Acre
to Ongla, oncle " salth Arnaut
Her uncle commanded In Acre,
That had known hel In gIrlhood (Theseus, son of Aegeus)
And he, LOUIS, was not at ease In that town, And was not at ease by Jordan
As she rode out to the palm-grove
Her scarf In Saladln's C1mler
DIvorced her 10 that year, he LOUIS, dlvorclng thus Aqultalne
And that year Plantagenet marrxed her (that had dodged past 17 swtors)
Et quand 10 reIS LOIS 10 entendlt mout er fasche
N auphal, VeXls, Harry Joven
In pledge for all hIS hfe and Me of all hIS heIrs Shall have GISOrs, and Vexls, Neufchastel
But If no ISSue GISOrs shall revert
? . . Need not wed Ahx m the name
Tuntty holy mdlvlslble RIchard our brother Need not wed Allx once hIs father's ward and But whomso he choose for Ahx, etc
Eleanor, domna Jauzionda, mother of RIchard,
Turnmg on thtrty years (wd have been yeals before tht:. ) By nver-marsh, by gallened church-porch,
Malemorte, Correze, to whom
? ? My Lady of Ventadour . . Is shut by Ebhs 10
cc And wtll not hawk nor hunt
nor get her free 10 the aIr
cc Nor watch fish nse to baIt
c. Nor the glare-Wlllg'd flIes alIght In the creek's edge ? ? Save 10 my absence, Madame
? Que 1a lauzeta mover' . . Send word I ask you to Ebhs
you have seen that maker
. . And finder of songs so far afield as thIS " That he may free her,
who sheds such lIght In the aIr"
E 10 Sordels Sl fo dt Mantovana,
Son of a poor kmght, Sler Escort,
And he delIghted hImself 10 chan~ons
And mIxed WIth the men of the court
And went to the court of RIchard Samt Bontface And was there taken WIth love for hIS WIfe
Cumzza, da Romano That freed her slaves on a Wednesday
Masnatas et servos, witness PICUS de Farmatls
and Don Ehnus and Don Llpus
sons of Farmato de' Farmatl
? CC free of person, free of wIll
cc free to buy, WItness, sell, testate" A manto subtraxlt lpsam
dictum Sordellum concubulsse
(C Wmter and Summer I smg of her glace, As the rose IS faIr, so faIr 15 hel face,
Both Summer and Wmter I SlOg of her, The S'10W makyth me to remember her"
And Calrels was of Sarlat
Theseus from Troezene And they wd have given hIm pOlson
But for the shape of hIS sword-hIlt
? VII
ELEANOR (she spoued In a Bntish clImate) VEAa. v6pos and 'EAE'II"TOALS, and
poor old Homer blmd,
blmd as a bat, Ear, ear for the sea-surge,
rattle of old men's VOiceS And then the phantom Rome,
marble narrow for seats ct 51 pulVlS nullus" saId OVId,
c. Erlt, nullum tamen excute"
Then :file and candles, e II mestiers ecoutes,
Scene for the battle only, but stUl scene,
Pennons and standards y cavals armatz
Not mere succesSIon of strokes, SIghtless narratIon,
And Dante's . . CIOCCO," brand struck m the game Un peu molSl, plancher plus bas que Ie JardIn
. . Contre Ie lambns, fautewl de paIlle,
. . Un Vleux plano, et sous Ie barometre "
The old men's VOICes, beneath the columns of false marble, The modISh and darkIsh walls,
PlScreeter gdrung, and the panelled wood
Suggested, for the leasehold IS
Touched With an lffipreCISlon about three squares, The house too thtck, the palntIngs
a shade too oued
And the great domed head, eon gIl oeem onestt e tard, Moves before me, phantom With weIghted motIon, Grave meessu, dnnkIng the tone of thIngs,
And the old vOice hfts Itself
weavlng an endless sentence
? We also made ghostly VISIts, and the staIr
That knew us, found us agam on the turn of It, Knockmg at empty rooms, seekmg for buned beauty, And the sun-tanned, gracIOus and well-formed fingers LIft no latch of bent bronze, no EmpIre handle
TWIsts for the knocker's fall, no VOIce to answer
A strange conCIerge, m place of the gouty-footed SceptIc agamst all thIS one seeks the hvmg,
Stubborn agamst the fact The wted flowers
Brushed out a seven year SInce, of no effect
Damn the partItIon' Paper, dark brown and stretched, FlImsy and damned part1t1on
lone, dead the long year My hntel, and LlU Ch'e's lmtel
Tlffie blacked out wIth the rubber The Elysee carnes a name on
And the bus behmd me gIves me a date for peg,
Low ce1hng and the Erard and the suver,
These are m tt tlffie" Four cha1rs, the bow-front dresser, The pamer of the desk, cloth top sunk m
. . Beer-bottle on the statue's pedIment'
. . That, Fntz, 1S the era, to-day agamst the past,
tt Contemporary" And the passIOn endures
Agamst the1r actIon, aromas Rooms, agamst chromcles Smaragdos, chrysohthos, De Gama wore stnped pants In Afnca And tt Mountams of the sea gave bIrth to troops",
Le Vieux commode en acaJou beer-bottles of vanous strata,
But tS she dead as Tyro"> In seven years) EMvavs, ~Xaplipos, E'XE7r70hLS
The sea runs m the beach-groove, shakmg the floated pebbles, Eleanor'
The scarlet curtam throws a less scarlet shadow,
? LamplIght 1t BuovIlla, e quel remlr, And all that day
Nlcea moved before me
And the cold grey aIr troubled hel not
For all her naked beauty, bIt not the tropIc skm, And the long slender feet lIt on the curb's marge And her movmg heIght went before me,
We alone havmg bemg And all that day, another day
Thm husks I had known as men, Dry casques of dep1rted locusts
speakmg a shell of speech Propped between chaIrs and table
Words lIke the locust-shells, moved by no mner hemg, A dryness callIng for death,
Another day, between walls of a sham Myceman,
. . Toc" sphmxes, sham-MemphiS columns,
And beneath the Jazz a corte:ll. , a stIffness or stIllness,
Shell of the older house
Brown-yellow wood, and the no colour plaster, Dry professonal talk
now stllhng the III beat mUSlC, House expulsed by thts house
Square even shoulders and the satm skm, Gone cheeks of the dancmg woman,
Scil the old dead dry talk, gassed o u t - It IS ten years gone, makes stIff about her a glass, A petrefactlon of aIr
The old room of the tawdry class asserts Itself, The young men, never'
Only the husk of talk
o VOl che slete m PICCloletta barca,
DIdo choked up With sobs, for her 5lcheus 2. 6
? LIes heavy m my arms, dead we1ght Drownmg, WIth tears, new Eros,
And the hfe goes on, moomng upon bare h1lls, Flame leaps from the hand, the ram 1S hstless, Yet drmks the thlrst from our hps,
sohd as echo,
PaSSlon to breed a form 10 shImmer of ram-blur,
But Eros drowned, drowned, heavy-half dead WIth tears
For dead Slcheus
LIfe to make mock of motIon For the husks, before me, move,
The words rattle shells gIven out by shells The hve man, out of lands and prISons,
shakes the dry pods,
Probes for old WIlls and frIendshIps, and the bIg ! ocust-casques Bend to the tawdry table,
LIft up theIr spoons to mouths, put fOlks m cutlets,
And make sound lIke the sound of VOIces
Lorenzacclo
Bemg more hve than they, more full of flames and VOIces Ma se mor1sse'
Credesse caduto da se, ma se morISse And the tallmddference moves,
a more hvmg shell,
Dnft m the alr of fate, dry phantom, but mtact o Alessandro, cruef and thrIce warned, watcher,
Eternal watcher of thmgs, Of thmgs, of men, of paSSIOns
Eyes floatmg m dry, dark alr,
E bIondo, Wlth glass-grey ms, Wlth an even SIde-fall of halt The stIff, stIll features
? VIII
THESE fragments you have shelved (shored) "Slut'" "BItch'" Truth and Calhop;: Slang10g each other sous les laurlers
That Alessandro was negroId Slgtsmund
Frater tamquam Et compater carzsstme tergo
And Malatesta
EqUlvalent to
hannt de dzcts entza
Glohanm of the MedICI,
Florence
Letter receIved, and 10 the matter of our Messlte GlanozlO,
One from htm also, sent on In form and WIth all due dIspatch, HaVing added your wlShes and memoranda
As to arrang10g peace between you and the K10g of Ragona,
So far as I am concerned, It wd
GIve me the greatest possible pleasure,
At any rate nothlOg wd gIve me more pleasure
or be more acceptable to me,
And I shd hke to be party to It, as was promIsed me,
etther as participant or adherent As for my serVIce money,
Perhaps you and your father wd draw It And send It on to me as qUIckly as pOSSIble And tell the Maestro dz pe1'ltore
That there can be no question of
HIS paIntIng the walls for the moment,
As the mortar IS not yet dry
And It wd be merely work chucked away
(buttato VIa)
? But I want It to be qUIte clear, that untIl the chapels are ready I wlll arrange for hIm to palnt somethlng else
So that both he and I shall
Get as much enjoyment as possIble from It,
And In order that he may enter my serVIce
And also because you WrIte me that he needs cash,
I want to arrange With hIm to gIve hIm so much per year And to assure hIm that he Will get the sum agreed on You may say that I WIll depOSIt securIty
For hIm wherever he hkes
And let me have a clear answer,
For I mean to give hIm good treatment
So that he may come to hve the rest
Of hts hfe m my lands-
Unless you put hIm off It -
And for thIS I mean to make due prOVISIon,
So that he can work as he lIkes,
Or waste hIS tIme as he lIkes
(affattgandose per suo ptacere 0 no non glt manchera la proVlxtone mat)
neveI lackmg prOVlSlon SIGISMUNDUS P ANDOLPHUS DE MALA TESTIS
In campo Ilim Doment VenetorU1n aze 7 aprzlts 1449 contra Cremonam
and because the aforesaId most IllustrIOUS Duke of Mllan
Is content and Wills that the aforesaId Lord 51gISmundo Go mto the serVIce of the most magnIficent commune of the Florentlnes
For alhance defenSIve of the two states,
Therefore between the aforesaid IllustrIOUS Sigismund And the respectable man Agnolo della Stufa,
ambassador, SlndlC and procurator ApPolnted by the ten of the bally, etc, the half
29
?
COLLECTED SHORTER POEMS
SELECTED POEMS 19081959
SELECTED CANTOS OF EZRA POUND
DRAFTS AND FRAGMENTS OF CANTOS CX CXVII PISAN CANTOS
THE CLASSIC ANTHOLOGY DEFINED BY CONFUCIUS
LITERARY ESSAYS OF EZRA POUND (edited by T S Eltot)
SELECTED PROSE 1909 1965 ( edIted by WIllIam Cookson)
ABC OF READING
TRANSLATIONS OF EZRA POUND SOPHOCLES WOMEN OF TRACHIS
THE SELECTED LETTERS OF EZRA POUND 1907 19 II (edIted by D D PaIge)
? THE CANTOS OF EZRAPOUND
FABER AND FABER ? LONDON
? Collected edItIOn (Cantos I 84) FlCst publIshed In I954 Second ImpressIon I957
New Collected edmon (Cantos I 109) published m I964
Second ImpressIon I968
ReVISed Collected edItIon (Cantos 1 published In 1975
by Faber & Faber LImIted
3 Queen Square London WCI
1 17 )
Pnnted 10 the Umted States of Amenca
(C) 1975 The Ezra Pound Literary Property Trust
ISBN 0571048978 (hard bound edmon) ISBN 0571048986 (Faber Paperbacks)
All nghts reserved Except for brIef passages quoted In a newspapt. r magazme, radIO, or televIsIon reVIew, no part of thIS book may be rt. produced In any form or by any means, elcctromc or mechaOlcal meludlng photOCOPYIng and recording, or by any information storagt and lemeval system WIthout permIssIon 10 wrltlng from tht Publlsh,r
? CONTENTS
A Draft of XXX Cantos (1930) I Eleven New Cantos XXXI-XLI (1934) 151 The FIfth Decad of Cantos XLII-LI (1937) 207 Cantos LII-LXXI (1940) 253 The Plsan Cantos LXXIV-LXXXIV (1948) ~P3
SectIon Rock-Dnll De Los Cantares LXXXV-XCV
(1955) 541
Thrones de los Cantares XCVI-CIX (1959) 649 Drafts and Fragments of Cantos CX-CXVII (1969) 775
? A DRAFT OF XXX CANTOS
? I
AD then went down to the ship,
Set keel to breakers, forth on the godly sea, and We set up mast and sax! on that swart ship, Bore sheep aboard her, and our bodies also Heavy wlth weep1Og, and wmds from sternward
Bore us out onward WIth bellymg canvas,
Cxrce's thiS craft, the trxm-colfed goddess
Then sat we amidshIps, wmd Jamnung the tIller,
Thus with stretched sail, we went over sea till day's end Sun to hiS slumber, shadows o'er all the ocean,
Came we then to the bounds of deepest water,
To the Kxmmenan lands, and peopled cities
Covered Wlth close-webbed mist, unplerced ever
With glItter of sun-rays
Nor With stars stretched, nor lookmg back from hea\en Swartest mght stretched over wretched men there
The ocean flowmg backward, came we then to the place Aforesaid by Cuce
Here did they rites, Penmedes and Eurylochus,
And drawmg sword from my hip
I dug the ell-square pltkm,
Poured we hbatlons unto each the dead,
First mead and then s~eet WIne, water mixed With whIte flour Then prayed I many a prayer to the SIckly death's-heads,
As set m Ithaca, sterlle bulls of the best
For sacrIfice, heap10g the pyre With goods,
A sheep to Txreslas only, black and a bell-sheep
Dark blood flowed 10 the fosse,
Souls out of Erebus, cadaverous dead, of brIdes
Of youths and of the old who had borne much,
Souls stamed WIth recent tears, gIrls tender,
3
? Men many, mauled wlth bronze lance heads, Battle spoll, beanng yet dreory arms,
These many crowded about me, wIth shoutmg, Pallor upon me, cned to my men for more beasts, Slaughtered the helds, sheep slam of bronze, Poured omtment, cned to the gods,
To Pluto the strong, and praIsed ProserpIm. ,
Unsheathed the narroW sword,
I sat to keep off the lmpetuous Impotent dead,
Ttll I should hear Tlreslas
But first Elpenor came, our frIend Elpenor,
Unbuned, cast on the wlde earth,
Llmbs that we left In the house of CIrce,
Unwept, unwrapped 10 sepulchre, smce tOlls urged other PItIful splnt And I cned 10 hurrIed speech
. . Elpenor, how art thou come to thIS dark coast~
. . Cam'st thou afoot, outstnppmg seamen'> . .
And he 10 heavy speech
. . III fate and abundant wme I slept 10 Clrce's 109Ie
. . Gomg down the long ladder unguarded,
. . I fell agamst the buttress,
. . Shattered the nape-nerve, the soul sought Avel nus
. c But thou, 0 Kmg, I bId remember me, unwept, unbuned, . . Heap up mIne arms, be tomb by sea-bord, and mscnbt. . d cc A man of no fortune, and with a name to come
cc And set my oar up, that I swung mId fellows"
And Anttdea came, whom I beat off, and then Tlreslas Theban, Holdmg Ius golden wand, knew me, and spoke first
. . A second tlIDe'> why'> man of III star,
t< Facmg the sunless dead and thlS Joyless reglon~
t< Stand from the fosse, leave me my bloody bever . . For soothsay "
And I stepped back,
And he strong wlth the blood, saId then . . Odysseus
4
? ? ? Shalt return through splteful Neptune, over dark seas, ? ? Lose all compamons" And then Antlclea came
LIe qUiet DIVUS I mean, that IS Andreas DIVUS,
In officma Wecheh, 1538, out of Homer
And he sailed, by Sltens and thence outward and away And unto Cltce
V enerandam,
In the Cretan's phrase, With the golden crown, AphrodIte,
Cyprl mummenta sortita est, mIrthful, otlchalchl, With golden GIrdles and breast bands, thou wIth dark eyelIds
Beanng the golden bough of ArgIclda So that
? HANG It all, Robert Browmng,
there can be but the one . . Sordello " But Sordello, and my Sordello~
Lo Sordels SI fo dl Mantovana
So-shu churned In the sea
Seal sports m the spray-whIted circles of chff-wash, Sleek head, daughter of 11r,
eyes of Picasso
Under black fur-hood, hthe daughter of Ocean, And the wave runs In the beach-groove
ct Eleanor, ~XEPaliS and ehE7l"TohtS' "
And poor old Homer bhnd, blInd, as a bat,
Ear, ear for the sea-surge, murmur of old men's vOlces
. . Let her go back to the shlPs,
Back among GreClan faces, lest eVlI come on our own, EVil and further evu, and a curse cursed on our children, Moves, yes she moves lIke a goddess
And has the face of a god
and the vOice of Schoeney's daughters, And doom goes wlth her lD walkmg,
Let her go back to the ships,
back among Grecian vOIces"
And by the beach-run, Tyro,
TWisted arms of the sea-god,
Llthe smews of water, gnppmg he~, cross-hold, And the blue-gray glass of the wave tents them, Glare azure of water, cold-welter, close cover QUiet sun-tawny sand-stretch,
The gulls broad out thelr WIngs,
mppmg between the splay feathers,
II
6
? Smpe come for thelI' bath,
bend out theIr wmg-Jomts,
Spread wet wmgs to the sun-film, And by SClOS,
to left of the Naxos passage, Naviform rock overgrown,
alg-e clIng to Its edge,
There IS a wme-red glow m the shallows,
a tm flash m the sun-dazzle
The shIp landed m SClOS,
men wantmg spring-water,
And by the rock-pool a young boy loggy WIth vme-must, . . To N axos') Yes, we'll take you to Naxos,
Cum' along lad" tc Not that way' " co Aye, that way 15 Naxos"
And I saId . . It's a straIght shIp" And an ex-convIct out of Italy
knocked me mto the fore-stays,
(He was wanted for manslaughter 111 Tuscany)
And the whole twenty agamst me, Mad for a lIttle slave money
And they took her out of SCIOS And off her course
And the boy came to, agalll, WIth the racket, And looked out over the bows,
and to eastward, and to the Naxos passage God-sleIght then, god-sleIght
ShIP stock fast m sea-swIrl, Ivy upon the oars, Kmg Pentheus,
grapes wlth no seed but sea-foam, Ivy 111 scupper-hole
Aye, I, Acretes, stood there,
and the god stood by me,
Water cuttmg under the keel,
7
? Sea-break from stern forrards,
wake runnIng off from the bow,
And where was gunwale, there now was vine-trunk, And tenthru where cordage had been,
grape-leaves on the rowlocks, Heavy Vine on the oarshafts,
And. out of nothmg, a breathmg, hot breath on my anh. les,
Beasts hke shadows m glass,
a furred tall upon nothmgness
Lynx-purr, and heathery smell of beasts, where tar smell had been,
Smff and pad-foot of beasts, eye-ghtter out of black aIr
The sky overshot, dry, WIth no tempest, Sruff and pad-foot of beasts,
fur brushmg my knee-skm, Rustle of aIry sheaths.
dry forms m the (l! ther And the shIp lIke a keel In shIp-yard,
slung lIke an ox m smIth's slIng, Ribs stuck fast m the ways,
grape-cluster over pm-rack,
VOId air takmg pelt LIfeless alr become smewed,
felIne leISure of panthers,
Leopards snrffing the grape shoots by scupper-hole, Crouched panthers by fore-hatch,
And the sea blue-deep about us,
green-ruddy 111 shadows.
And Ly~us ? ? From now, Acretes, my altars, Fearing no bondage,
fearIng no cat of the wood, Safe WIth my lynxes,
feed111g grapes to my leopards, 8
? Ohbanum IS my Incense,
the VInes grow m my homage"
The back-swell now smooth In the rudder-chams, Black snout of a porpOIse
where Lycabs had been, FISh-scales on the oarsmen
And I worshIp
I have seen what I have seen
When they brought the boy I saId to He has a god m h1l11,
though I do not know whIch god" And they kIcked me mto the fore-stays
I have seen what I have seen
Medon's face lIke the face of a dory, Arms shrunk Into fins And you, Pentheus, Had as well hsten to Tlreslas, and to Cadmus,
or your luck w1l1 go out of you FIsh-scales over grom muscles,
lynx-purr amId sea And of a later year,
pale In the wIne-red algre, If you wIll lean over the rock,
the coral face under wave-t1Oge, Rose-paleness under water-shIft,
Ileuthyena, faIr Dafne of sea-bords, The SW1l11mer's arms turned to branches, Who wIll say 10 what year,
fleeIng what band of tntons, The smooth brows, seen, and half seen,
now Ivory stIllness
And So-shu churned In the sea, So-shu also, USIng the long moon for a churn-stIck
LIthe turmng of water, smews of PoseIdon,
9
? Black azure and hyalIne,
glass wave over Tyro,
Close cover, unsttllness,
btlght welter of wave-cords,
Then qUlet water,
qUlet m the buff sands,
Sea-fowl stletchmg wmg-Jomts,
splaslung 10 rock-hollows and sand-hollows
In the wave-runs by the half-dune,
Glass-ghnt of wave 1D the tide-rips agalnst sunlIght,
pallor of Hesperus, Grey peak of the wave,
wave, colour of grape's pulp,
Ohve grey m the near,
far, smoke grey of the rock. -shde,
Salmon-pInk WlOgS of the fish-hawk cast grey shadows 1D water,
The tower hke a one-eyed gle'tt goose cranes up out of the ohvc-gro~e,
And we have heard the fauns eluding Proteus
m the smell of hay under the ohve-trees.
And the frogs slngmg against the fauns In. the half-hght
And
10
? III
ISAT on the Dogana's steps
For the gondolas cost too much, that year,
And there were not" those girls ", there was one face, And the Buccentoro twenty Y'lrds off, howhng . . Strettl ",
And the lIt cross-beams, that year, In the MOrOSlnl,
A n d peacocks 10 KOle's house, 0 1 there may have been
Gods float In the 'lzure alt,
Bnght gods and Tuscan, hack before dew was shed Light and the first lIght, before ever dew was fallen Pamsks, and from the oak, dryas,
And from the apple, mrehd,
Through all the wood, and the leaves are full of VOices, A-whisper, and the clouds howe over the lake,
And there are gods upon them,
And 10 the water, the almond-white SWimmers,
The SlIvery water glazes the upturned mpple,
As POgglO has remarked Green vems In the turquoIse,
Or, the gray steps lead up under the cedars
My CId rode up to Burgos,
Up to the studded gate between two towers,
Beat wIth hiS lance butt, and the child came out,
Una mna de nueve anos,
To the httle gallery over the gate, between the towers, Readmg the Writ, voce t10nula
That no man speak to, feed, help Ruy Dlaz,
On pam to have hIS heart out, set on a pike spIke
And both hIS eyes torn out, and all hIS goods sequestered, ? ? And here, Myo Cld, are the seals,
The big seal and the wntIng "
And he caIre down from Blvar, Myo Cld,
II
? WIth no hawks left there on theIr perches, And no clothes there m the presses,
And left hIs trunk wIth Raquel and Vidas, That bIg box of sand, wIth the pawn-brokers, To get pay for hIs menIe,
Breakmg hIs way to ValencIa
Ignez da Castro murdered, and a wall
Here strIpped, here made to stand
Drear waste, the pIgment flakes from the stone, Or plaster flakes, Mantegna pamted the wall Sxlk tatters, "Nee Spe Nee Metu 'J
I2
? IV
PALACE In smoky lIght,
Troy but a heap of smoulderIng boundary stones, ANAXIFORMINGES' Aurunculela'
Hear me Cadmus of Golden Prows'
The slIver mIrrors catch the bnght stones and flare, Dawn, to our waklOg, dnfts I n the green cool hght, Dew-haze blurs, In the grass, pale ankles movmg Beat, beat, whIrr, thud, In the soft turf
under the apple trees,
Choros nympharum, goat-foot, WIth the pale foot alternate, Crescent of blue-shot waters, green-gold In the shallows,
A black cock crows In the sea-foam,
And by the curved, carved foot of the couch, claw-foot and hon head, an old man seated
Speakmg In the low drone Ityn'
Et ter fleblhter, Ityn, Ityn'
And she went toward the WIndow and cast her down,
Itynl
cc All the whue, the whIle, swallows cry10g
cc It 15 Cabestan's heart 10 the dIsh" . . It IS Cabestan's heart In the dlsh)
cc No other taste shall change thIS . .
And she went toward the Window, the shm whIte stone bar
Makmg a double arch,
FIrm even fingers held to the :firm pale stone, Swung for a moment,
and the wmd out of Rhodez Caught In the full of her sleeve
the swallows cryIng 13
? 'TIS 'TIS YtIS' Acta:on
and a valley,
The valley IS thIck wIth leaves, wIth leaves, the trees, The sunlIght glItters, glItters a-top,
Like a :fish-scale roof,
LIke the church roof In POlctlers If It were gold
Beneath It, beneath It
Not a ray, not a shvver, not a spare dISC of sunlIght Flakmg the black, soft water,
Bathing the body of nymphs, of nymphs, and DIana, Nymphs, whIte-gathered about her, and the aIr, aIr, Shakmg, aIr alIght WIth the goddess,
fanmng theIr haIr m the dark, LIftmg, lIftIng and waffing
Ivory dIppmg In stiver, Shadow'd, o'ershadow'd
Ivory dIppIng m stiver,
Not a splotch, not a lost shatter of sunlIght Then Acta:on VIdal,
VIdal It IS old VIdal speaking,
stumblIng along In the wood,
Not a patch, not a lost shImmer of sunlIght,
the pale haIr of the goddess
The dogs leap on Acta:on,
" HIther, hIther, Acta:on,"
Spotted stag of the wood, Gold, gold, a sheaf of hair,
ThIck hke a wheat swath, Blaze, blaze m the sun,
The dogs leap on Acta:on 14
? Stumblmg, stumblmg along m the wood, Muttenng, muttenng OVid
. . Pergusa pool pool Gargaphla, . . Pool pool of Salmacls "
The empty armour shakes as the cygnet moves
Thus the lIght rams, thus pours, e [0 solezlls plovll The hqUld and rushmg crystal
beneath the knees of the gods Ply over ply, thm ghtter of water,
Brook film beanng white petals The pme at Takasago
grows with the pme of Ise'
The water whIrls up the bnght pale sand m the sprIng's mouth . . Behold the Tree of the VIsages' "
Forked branch-tips, flammg as If wIth lotus
Ply over ply The shallow eddymg flUid,
beneath the knees of the gods
Torches melt m the glare
set flame of the corner cook-stall,
Blue agate casmg the sky (as at Gourdon that tme) the sputter of resm,
Saffron sandal so petals the narrow foot Hymenreus 10' Hymen, 10 Hymena:e' AuruncuIeIa'
One scarlet flower IS cast on the blanch-whIte stone
And So-Gyoku, saymg
? ? Tlus WInd, srre, IS the kmg's wmd,
Tlus WInd 18 wmd of the palace, Shakmg ImperIal water-Jets . .
And HSIang, openmg hiS collar . . ThIS WInd roars m the earth's bag,
It lays the water WIth rushes" IS
? No WInd lS the kIng's WInd
Let every cow keep her calf
~cTlus WInd IS held 10 gauze curtains " No w1nd 1S the kIng's
The camel drIvers Sit In the turn of the stairs, Look down on Ecbatan of plotted streets,
. . Danae' Danae'
What WInd IS the kIng's'> . .
Smoke hangs on the stream,
The peach-trees shed bnght leaves In the water, Sound drifts In the eventng haze,
The bark scrapes at the ford, Gut rafters above black water,
Three steps In an open field, Gray stone-posts leadIng
Pere Henri Jacques would speak Wlth the Sennm, on Rokku, Mount Rokku between the rock and the cedars,
Polhonac,
As Gyges on Thraclan platter set the feast,
Cabestan, Tereus,
It IS Cabestan's heart 10 the dish,
Vldal, or Ecbatan, upon the gIlded tower In Ecbatan Lay the god's bride, lay ever, waiting the golden raIn By Garonne . . Saave' . .
The Garonne 15 truck hke palOt,
Process10n, - cc Et sa'ave, sa'ave, sa'ave Regma! " - Moves lIke a worm, 10 the crowd
Adlge, thIn :film of unages,
Across the Adlge, by Stefano, Madonna 10 hortulo, As Cavalcantt had seen her
The Centaur's heel plants 10 the earth loam And we Sit here
there 10 the arena
z6
? v
GEAT bulk, huge mass, thesauru'),
Ecbatan, the clock tIcks and fades out
The bnde awaltmg the god's touch, Ecbatan, CIty of patterned streets, agam the VISIon Down In the VIa: strada:, toga'd the crowd, and arm'd, RushIng on populous bUSIness,
and from parapet looked down
and North was Egypt,
the celestIal Nue, blue deep,
cuttxng low barren land, Old men and camels
workmg the watet-wheels, Measureless seas and stars,
Iambhchus' hght,
the souls ascendmg,
Sparks hke a partndge covey,
LIke the . . CIOCCO " , brand struck I n the game
tt Et omniformIS" AIr, fire, the pale soft lIght Topaz I manage, and three sorts of blue,
but on the barb of tIme
The fire'> always, and the VlSlon always,
Ear dull, perhaps, WIth the VISIon, fhttxng
And fadmg at WIll Weavmg WIth pomts of gold, Gold-yellow, saffron The roman shoe, Aurunculeta's
And come shufflIng feet, and crIes" Da nuces'
c. Nuces' " praISe, and Hymena:us . . bnngs the gul to her man . . Or . . here Sextus had seen her . .
TItter of sound about me, always
and from . . Hesperus "
Hush of the older song . . Fades hght from sea-crest, . . And m LydIa walks With palr'd women
. . Peerless among the paIrs, that once m SardIS
17
? " In satIetIes
Fades the lIght flom the sea, 'lnd man) th Ilgs
. . Are set abroad and brought to nund of thee,"
And the vmestocks he untended, llew leaves come to the shoots, North wmd mps 011 the bough, and seas m heal t
Toss up chIll crests,
And the vme stocks he untended
And many thlOgs are set abroad and blOught to mlOd Of thee, Atthls, unfrUltful
The talks ran long m the mght
And from Mauleon, fresh wIth a new earned grade, In maze of approachmg ram-steps, POlcebot-
The aIr was full of women,
And Savamc Mauleon
Gave hIm hIs land and kmght's fee, and he wed the woman Came lust of travel on hml, of 1omerya,
And out of England a kmght wIth slow-hftmg eyelIds
Let fassa lurar a del, put gl1mour upon her
And left her an eIght months gone
. . Came lust of woman upon hIm," POlcebot, now on North road from Spam
(Sea-change, a grey m the water)
And 10 small house by town's edge
Found a woman, changed and famihar face, Hard nIght, and pattmg at mormng
And Plelte won the 51Ogmg, Pleite de Maensac,
Song or land on the throw, and was drcftz hom
And had De TierCl's WIfe and wIth the war they made
Troy m Auvergnat
Wlule Menelaus ptled up the church at port
He kept Tyndarlda Dauph10 stood wIth de Maensac
John BorgIa IS bathed at last (Clock-tIck pIerces the VISIon) TIber, dark WIth the cloak, wet cat gleammg 10 patches
18
? Chck of the hooves, through garbage,
ClutchIng the greasy stone cc And the cloak floated . . Slander lS up betImes
But Varchl of Florence,
Steeped In a dIfferent year, and pondermg Brutus, Then c. l;t")'a p. aX' aVOLS 8EVTEpa. VI
. . Dog-eye" " (to Alessandro)
. . Whether for love of Florence," Varchl leaves It, Saymg . . I saw the man, came up WIth hIm at Venice,
. . I, one wantmg the facts,
. . And no mean labour Or for a pnvy SpIte';) . .
Our Benedetto leaves It,
But ? ? I saw the man Se PZtz';)
rr 0 empta';l For LorenzacclO had thought of stroke m the open But uncertaIn (for the Duke went never unguarded)
. . And would have thrown him from wall
. . Yet feared thiS mIght not end hIm," or lest Alessandro Know not by whom death came, 0 se credesse
. . I f when the foot shpped, when death came upon hun,
. . Lest COUSIn Du1. . e Alessandro thmk he had fallen alone,
. . No fnend to aId hIm m fallmg"
Cazna attende
The lake of Ice there below me
And all of thIS, runs Varchl, dre~med out beforehand In Perugla, caught In the star-maze by Del Carmme, Cast on a natal paper, set WIth an exegesIS, told,
All told to Alessandro, told thnce over,
Who held hIS death for a doom
In abulela But Don Lorenzmo
Whether for love of Florence but
. . 0 se morose, credesse caduto da se "
l;l-ya. , (fl,,),a
SchIaVOnI, caught on the wood-barge,
GIves out the afterbIrth, GIOVannI BorgIa,
TraIls out no more at nights, where Barabello
19
? Prods the Pope's elephant, and gets no crown, where MozarelJo Takes the Calabnan roadway, and for endmg
Is smothered beneath a mule,
a poet's endmg,
Down a stale well-hole, oh a poet's endmg "Sanazarro
. . Alone out of all the court was faIthful to hIm"
For the gOSSIp of Naples' trouble drIfts to North,
Fracastor (lIghtnmg was mtdw1fe) Cotta, and Ser D'Alv1ano, AI poco glorno ed al gran cerchlo d'ombra,
Talk the talks out With NaVlghero,
Burner of yearly Martlals,
(The slavelet IS mourned m vam)
And the next comer says to Were nme wounds,
. . Four men, whIte horse Held on the saddle before hIm " Hooves clmk and shck on the cobbles
SchIaVOnI cloak . . Smk the damn thmg' . .
Splash wakes that chap on the wood-barge
TIber catchtng the nap, the moonlIt velvet,
A wet cat gleamIng 1n patches
cc Se pIa," VarchI, cc 0 empla, ma rtsoluto
cc E ternbtle dehberazlone "
Both saymgs run m the wmd.
Ma se mortsse'
20
? VI
WHAT you have done, Odysseus,
We know what you have done
And that Gu:tllaume sold out hIs ground rents
(Seventh of POltlers, NInth of AqultaIn) to Tant las fotel com aUZIrets
c. Cen e quatre vIngt et velt vetz "
The stone IS ahve In my hand, the crops wxll be thIck In my death-year
T:tll LOUIS IS wed wIth Eleanor
And had (He, Guxllaume) a son that had to wIfe The Duchess of Normandla whose daughter
Was wIfe to KIng Henry e maire del reI Jove
Went over sea t:tll day's end (he, LOUIS, Wlth Eleanor) ComIng at last to Acre
to Ongla, oncle " salth Arnaut
Her uncle commanded In Acre,
That had known hel In gIrlhood (Theseus, son of Aegeus)
And he, LOUIS, was not at ease In that town, And was not at ease by Jordan
As she rode out to the palm-grove
Her scarf In Saladln's C1mler
DIvorced her 10 that year, he LOUIS, dlvorclng thus Aqultalne
And that year Plantagenet marrxed her (that had dodged past 17 swtors)
Et quand 10 reIS LOIS 10 entendlt mout er fasche
N auphal, VeXls, Harry Joven
In pledge for all hIS hfe and Me of all hIS heIrs Shall have GISOrs, and Vexls, Neufchastel
But If no ISSue GISOrs shall revert
? . . Need not wed Ahx m the name
Tuntty holy mdlvlslble RIchard our brother Need not wed Allx once hIs father's ward and But whomso he choose for Ahx, etc
Eleanor, domna Jauzionda, mother of RIchard,
Turnmg on thtrty years (wd have been yeals before tht:. ) By nver-marsh, by gallened church-porch,
Malemorte, Correze, to whom
? ? My Lady of Ventadour . . Is shut by Ebhs 10
cc And wtll not hawk nor hunt
nor get her free 10 the aIr
cc Nor watch fish nse to baIt
c. Nor the glare-Wlllg'd flIes alIght In the creek's edge ? ? Save 10 my absence, Madame
? Que 1a lauzeta mover' . . Send word I ask you to Ebhs
you have seen that maker
. . And finder of songs so far afield as thIS " That he may free her,
who sheds such lIght In the aIr"
E 10 Sordels Sl fo dt Mantovana,
Son of a poor kmght, Sler Escort,
And he delIghted hImself 10 chan~ons
And mIxed WIth the men of the court
And went to the court of RIchard Samt Bontface And was there taken WIth love for hIS WIfe
Cumzza, da Romano That freed her slaves on a Wednesday
Masnatas et servos, witness PICUS de Farmatls
and Don Ehnus and Don Llpus
sons of Farmato de' Farmatl
? CC free of person, free of wIll
cc free to buy, WItness, sell, testate" A manto subtraxlt lpsam
dictum Sordellum concubulsse
(C Wmter and Summer I smg of her glace, As the rose IS faIr, so faIr 15 hel face,
Both Summer and Wmter I SlOg of her, The S'10W makyth me to remember her"
And Calrels was of Sarlat
Theseus from Troezene And they wd have given hIm pOlson
But for the shape of hIS sword-hIlt
? VII
ELEANOR (she spoued In a Bntish clImate) VEAa. v6pos and 'EAE'II"TOALS, and
poor old Homer blmd,
blmd as a bat, Ear, ear for the sea-surge,
rattle of old men's VOiceS And then the phantom Rome,
marble narrow for seats ct 51 pulVlS nullus" saId OVId,
c. Erlt, nullum tamen excute"
Then :file and candles, e II mestiers ecoutes,
Scene for the battle only, but stUl scene,
Pennons and standards y cavals armatz
Not mere succesSIon of strokes, SIghtless narratIon,
And Dante's . . CIOCCO," brand struck m the game Un peu molSl, plancher plus bas que Ie JardIn
. . Contre Ie lambns, fautewl de paIlle,
. . Un Vleux plano, et sous Ie barometre "
The old men's VOICes, beneath the columns of false marble, The modISh and darkIsh walls,
PlScreeter gdrung, and the panelled wood
Suggested, for the leasehold IS
Touched With an lffipreCISlon about three squares, The house too thtck, the palntIngs
a shade too oued
And the great domed head, eon gIl oeem onestt e tard, Moves before me, phantom With weIghted motIon, Grave meessu, dnnkIng the tone of thIngs,
And the old vOice hfts Itself
weavlng an endless sentence
? We also made ghostly VISIts, and the staIr
That knew us, found us agam on the turn of It, Knockmg at empty rooms, seekmg for buned beauty, And the sun-tanned, gracIOus and well-formed fingers LIft no latch of bent bronze, no EmpIre handle
TWIsts for the knocker's fall, no VOIce to answer
A strange conCIerge, m place of the gouty-footed SceptIc agamst all thIS one seeks the hvmg,
Stubborn agamst the fact The wted flowers
Brushed out a seven year SInce, of no effect
Damn the partItIon' Paper, dark brown and stretched, FlImsy and damned part1t1on
lone, dead the long year My hntel, and LlU Ch'e's lmtel
Tlffie blacked out wIth the rubber The Elysee carnes a name on
And the bus behmd me gIves me a date for peg,
Low ce1hng and the Erard and the suver,
These are m tt tlffie" Four cha1rs, the bow-front dresser, The pamer of the desk, cloth top sunk m
.
,
Unsheathed the narroW sword,
I sat to keep off the lmpetuous Impotent dead,
Ttll I should hear Tlreslas
But first Elpenor came, our frIend Elpenor,
Unbuned, cast on the wlde earth,
Llmbs that we left In the house of CIrce,
Unwept, unwrapped 10 sepulchre, smce tOlls urged other PItIful splnt And I cned 10 hurrIed speech
. . Elpenor, how art thou come to thIS dark coast~
. . Cam'st thou afoot, outstnppmg seamen'> . .
And he 10 heavy speech
. . III fate and abundant wme I slept 10 Clrce's 109Ie
. . Gomg down the long ladder unguarded,
. . I fell agamst the buttress,
. . Shattered the nape-nerve, the soul sought Avel nus
. c But thou, 0 Kmg, I bId remember me, unwept, unbuned, . . Heap up mIne arms, be tomb by sea-bord, and mscnbt. . d cc A man of no fortune, and with a name to come
cc And set my oar up, that I swung mId fellows"
And Anttdea came, whom I beat off, and then Tlreslas Theban, Holdmg Ius golden wand, knew me, and spoke first
. . A second tlIDe'> why'> man of III star,
t< Facmg the sunless dead and thlS Joyless reglon~
t< Stand from the fosse, leave me my bloody bever . . For soothsay "
And I stepped back,
And he strong wlth the blood, saId then . . Odysseus
4
? ? ? Shalt return through splteful Neptune, over dark seas, ? ? Lose all compamons" And then Antlclea came
LIe qUiet DIVUS I mean, that IS Andreas DIVUS,
In officma Wecheh, 1538, out of Homer
And he sailed, by Sltens and thence outward and away And unto Cltce
V enerandam,
In the Cretan's phrase, With the golden crown, AphrodIte,
Cyprl mummenta sortita est, mIrthful, otlchalchl, With golden GIrdles and breast bands, thou wIth dark eyelIds
Beanng the golden bough of ArgIclda So that
? HANG It all, Robert Browmng,
there can be but the one . . Sordello " But Sordello, and my Sordello~
Lo Sordels SI fo dl Mantovana
So-shu churned In the sea
Seal sports m the spray-whIted circles of chff-wash, Sleek head, daughter of 11r,
eyes of Picasso
Under black fur-hood, hthe daughter of Ocean, And the wave runs In the beach-groove
ct Eleanor, ~XEPaliS and ehE7l"TohtS' "
And poor old Homer bhnd, blInd, as a bat,
Ear, ear for the sea-surge, murmur of old men's vOlces
. . Let her go back to the shlPs,
Back among GreClan faces, lest eVlI come on our own, EVil and further evu, and a curse cursed on our children, Moves, yes she moves lIke a goddess
And has the face of a god
and the vOice of Schoeney's daughters, And doom goes wlth her lD walkmg,
Let her go back to the ships,
back among Grecian vOIces"
And by the beach-run, Tyro,
TWisted arms of the sea-god,
Llthe smews of water, gnppmg he~, cross-hold, And the blue-gray glass of the wave tents them, Glare azure of water, cold-welter, close cover QUiet sun-tawny sand-stretch,
The gulls broad out thelr WIngs,
mppmg between the splay feathers,
II
6
? Smpe come for thelI' bath,
bend out theIr wmg-Jomts,
Spread wet wmgs to the sun-film, And by SClOS,
to left of the Naxos passage, Naviform rock overgrown,
alg-e clIng to Its edge,
There IS a wme-red glow m the shallows,
a tm flash m the sun-dazzle
The shIp landed m SClOS,
men wantmg spring-water,
And by the rock-pool a young boy loggy WIth vme-must, . . To N axos') Yes, we'll take you to Naxos,
Cum' along lad" tc Not that way' " co Aye, that way 15 Naxos"
And I saId . . It's a straIght shIp" And an ex-convIct out of Italy
knocked me mto the fore-stays,
(He was wanted for manslaughter 111 Tuscany)
And the whole twenty agamst me, Mad for a lIttle slave money
And they took her out of SCIOS And off her course
And the boy came to, agalll, WIth the racket, And looked out over the bows,
and to eastward, and to the Naxos passage God-sleIght then, god-sleIght
ShIP stock fast m sea-swIrl, Ivy upon the oars, Kmg Pentheus,
grapes wlth no seed but sea-foam, Ivy 111 scupper-hole
Aye, I, Acretes, stood there,
and the god stood by me,
Water cuttmg under the keel,
7
? Sea-break from stern forrards,
wake runnIng off from the bow,
And where was gunwale, there now was vine-trunk, And tenthru where cordage had been,
grape-leaves on the rowlocks, Heavy Vine on the oarshafts,
And. out of nothmg, a breathmg, hot breath on my anh. les,
Beasts hke shadows m glass,
a furred tall upon nothmgness
Lynx-purr, and heathery smell of beasts, where tar smell had been,
Smff and pad-foot of beasts, eye-ghtter out of black aIr
The sky overshot, dry, WIth no tempest, Sruff and pad-foot of beasts,
fur brushmg my knee-skm, Rustle of aIry sheaths.
dry forms m the (l! ther And the shIp lIke a keel In shIp-yard,
slung lIke an ox m smIth's slIng, Ribs stuck fast m the ways,
grape-cluster over pm-rack,
VOId air takmg pelt LIfeless alr become smewed,
felIne leISure of panthers,
Leopards snrffing the grape shoots by scupper-hole, Crouched panthers by fore-hatch,
And the sea blue-deep about us,
green-ruddy 111 shadows.
And Ly~us ? ? From now, Acretes, my altars, Fearing no bondage,
fearIng no cat of the wood, Safe WIth my lynxes,
feed111g grapes to my leopards, 8
? Ohbanum IS my Incense,
the VInes grow m my homage"
The back-swell now smooth In the rudder-chams, Black snout of a porpOIse
where Lycabs had been, FISh-scales on the oarsmen
And I worshIp
I have seen what I have seen
When they brought the boy I saId to He has a god m h1l11,
though I do not know whIch god" And they kIcked me mto the fore-stays
I have seen what I have seen
Medon's face lIke the face of a dory, Arms shrunk Into fins And you, Pentheus, Had as well hsten to Tlreslas, and to Cadmus,
or your luck w1l1 go out of you FIsh-scales over grom muscles,
lynx-purr amId sea And of a later year,
pale In the wIne-red algre, If you wIll lean over the rock,
the coral face under wave-t1Oge, Rose-paleness under water-shIft,
Ileuthyena, faIr Dafne of sea-bords, The SW1l11mer's arms turned to branches, Who wIll say 10 what year,
fleeIng what band of tntons, The smooth brows, seen, and half seen,
now Ivory stIllness
And So-shu churned In the sea, So-shu also, USIng the long moon for a churn-stIck
LIthe turmng of water, smews of PoseIdon,
9
? Black azure and hyalIne,
glass wave over Tyro,
Close cover, unsttllness,
btlght welter of wave-cords,
Then qUlet water,
qUlet m the buff sands,
Sea-fowl stletchmg wmg-Jomts,
splaslung 10 rock-hollows and sand-hollows
In the wave-runs by the half-dune,
Glass-ghnt of wave 1D the tide-rips agalnst sunlIght,
pallor of Hesperus, Grey peak of the wave,
wave, colour of grape's pulp,
Ohve grey m the near,
far, smoke grey of the rock. -shde,
Salmon-pInk WlOgS of the fish-hawk cast grey shadows 1D water,
The tower hke a one-eyed gle'tt goose cranes up out of the ohvc-gro~e,
And we have heard the fauns eluding Proteus
m the smell of hay under the ohve-trees.
And the frogs slngmg against the fauns In. the half-hght
And
10
? III
ISAT on the Dogana's steps
For the gondolas cost too much, that year,
And there were not" those girls ", there was one face, And the Buccentoro twenty Y'lrds off, howhng . . Strettl ",
And the lIt cross-beams, that year, In the MOrOSlnl,
A n d peacocks 10 KOle's house, 0 1 there may have been
Gods float In the 'lzure alt,
Bnght gods and Tuscan, hack before dew was shed Light and the first lIght, before ever dew was fallen Pamsks, and from the oak, dryas,
And from the apple, mrehd,
Through all the wood, and the leaves are full of VOices, A-whisper, and the clouds howe over the lake,
And there are gods upon them,
And 10 the water, the almond-white SWimmers,
The SlIvery water glazes the upturned mpple,
As POgglO has remarked Green vems In the turquoIse,
Or, the gray steps lead up under the cedars
My CId rode up to Burgos,
Up to the studded gate between two towers,
Beat wIth hiS lance butt, and the child came out,
Una mna de nueve anos,
To the httle gallery over the gate, between the towers, Readmg the Writ, voce t10nula
That no man speak to, feed, help Ruy Dlaz,
On pam to have hIS heart out, set on a pike spIke
And both hIS eyes torn out, and all hIS goods sequestered, ? ? And here, Myo Cld, are the seals,
The big seal and the wntIng "
And he caIre down from Blvar, Myo Cld,
II
? WIth no hawks left there on theIr perches, And no clothes there m the presses,
And left hIs trunk wIth Raquel and Vidas, That bIg box of sand, wIth the pawn-brokers, To get pay for hIs menIe,
Breakmg hIs way to ValencIa
Ignez da Castro murdered, and a wall
Here strIpped, here made to stand
Drear waste, the pIgment flakes from the stone, Or plaster flakes, Mantegna pamted the wall Sxlk tatters, "Nee Spe Nee Metu 'J
I2
? IV
PALACE In smoky lIght,
Troy but a heap of smoulderIng boundary stones, ANAXIFORMINGES' Aurunculela'
Hear me Cadmus of Golden Prows'
The slIver mIrrors catch the bnght stones and flare, Dawn, to our waklOg, dnfts I n the green cool hght, Dew-haze blurs, In the grass, pale ankles movmg Beat, beat, whIrr, thud, In the soft turf
under the apple trees,
Choros nympharum, goat-foot, WIth the pale foot alternate, Crescent of blue-shot waters, green-gold In the shallows,
A black cock crows In the sea-foam,
And by the curved, carved foot of the couch, claw-foot and hon head, an old man seated
Speakmg In the low drone Ityn'
Et ter fleblhter, Ityn, Ityn'
And she went toward the WIndow and cast her down,
Itynl
cc All the whue, the whIle, swallows cry10g
cc It 15 Cabestan's heart 10 the dIsh" . . It IS Cabestan's heart In the dlsh)
cc No other taste shall change thIS . .
And she went toward the Window, the shm whIte stone bar
Makmg a double arch,
FIrm even fingers held to the :firm pale stone, Swung for a moment,
and the wmd out of Rhodez Caught In the full of her sleeve
the swallows cryIng 13
? 'TIS 'TIS YtIS' Acta:on
and a valley,
The valley IS thIck wIth leaves, wIth leaves, the trees, The sunlIght glItters, glItters a-top,
Like a :fish-scale roof,
LIke the church roof In POlctlers If It were gold
Beneath It, beneath It
Not a ray, not a shvver, not a spare dISC of sunlIght Flakmg the black, soft water,
Bathing the body of nymphs, of nymphs, and DIana, Nymphs, whIte-gathered about her, and the aIr, aIr, Shakmg, aIr alIght WIth the goddess,
fanmng theIr haIr m the dark, LIftmg, lIftIng and waffing
Ivory dIppmg In stiver, Shadow'd, o'ershadow'd
Ivory dIppIng m stiver,
Not a splotch, not a lost shatter of sunlIght Then Acta:on VIdal,
VIdal It IS old VIdal speaking,
stumblIng along In the wood,
Not a patch, not a lost shImmer of sunlIght,
the pale haIr of the goddess
The dogs leap on Acta:on,
" HIther, hIther, Acta:on,"
Spotted stag of the wood, Gold, gold, a sheaf of hair,
ThIck hke a wheat swath, Blaze, blaze m the sun,
The dogs leap on Acta:on 14
? Stumblmg, stumblmg along m the wood, Muttenng, muttenng OVid
. . Pergusa pool pool Gargaphla, . . Pool pool of Salmacls "
The empty armour shakes as the cygnet moves
Thus the lIght rams, thus pours, e [0 solezlls plovll The hqUld and rushmg crystal
beneath the knees of the gods Ply over ply, thm ghtter of water,
Brook film beanng white petals The pme at Takasago
grows with the pme of Ise'
The water whIrls up the bnght pale sand m the sprIng's mouth . . Behold the Tree of the VIsages' "
Forked branch-tips, flammg as If wIth lotus
Ply over ply The shallow eddymg flUid,
beneath the knees of the gods
Torches melt m the glare
set flame of the corner cook-stall,
Blue agate casmg the sky (as at Gourdon that tme) the sputter of resm,
Saffron sandal so petals the narrow foot Hymenreus 10' Hymen, 10 Hymena:e' AuruncuIeIa'
One scarlet flower IS cast on the blanch-whIte stone
And So-Gyoku, saymg
? ? Tlus WInd, srre, IS the kmg's wmd,
Tlus WInd 18 wmd of the palace, Shakmg ImperIal water-Jets . .
And HSIang, openmg hiS collar . . ThIS WInd roars m the earth's bag,
It lays the water WIth rushes" IS
? No WInd lS the kIng's WInd
Let every cow keep her calf
~cTlus WInd IS held 10 gauze curtains " No w1nd 1S the kIng's
The camel drIvers Sit In the turn of the stairs, Look down on Ecbatan of plotted streets,
. . Danae' Danae'
What WInd IS the kIng's'> . .
Smoke hangs on the stream,
The peach-trees shed bnght leaves In the water, Sound drifts In the eventng haze,
The bark scrapes at the ford, Gut rafters above black water,
Three steps In an open field, Gray stone-posts leadIng
Pere Henri Jacques would speak Wlth the Sennm, on Rokku, Mount Rokku between the rock and the cedars,
Polhonac,
As Gyges on Thraclan platter set the feast,
Cabestan, Tereus,
It IS Cabestan's heart 10 the dish,
Vldal, or Ecbatan, upon the gIlded tower In Ecbatan Lay the god's bride, lay ever, waiting the golden raIn By Garonne . . Saave' . .
The Garonne 15 truck hke palOt,
Process10n, - cc Et sa'ave, sa'ave, sa'ave Regma! " - Moves lIke a worm, 10 the crowd
Adlge, thIn :film of unages,
Across the Adlge, by Stefano, Madonna 10 hortulo, As Cavalcantt had seen her
The Centaur's heel plants 10 the earth loam And we Sit here
there 10 the arena
z6
? v
GEAT bulk, huge mass, thesauru'),
Ecbatan, the clock tIcks and fades out
The bnde awaltmg the god's touch, Ecbatan, CIty of patterned streets, agam the VISIon Down In the VIa: strada:, toga'd the crowd, and arm'd, RushIng on populous bUSIness,
and from parapet looked down
and North was Egypt,
the celestIal Nue, blue deep,
cuttxng low barren land, Old men and camels
workmg the watet-wheels, Measureless seas and stars,
Iambhchus' hght,
the souls ascendmg,
Sparks hke a partndge covey,
LIke the . . CIOCCO " , brand struck I n the game
tt Et omniformIS" AIr, fire, the pale soft lIght Topaz I manage, and three sorts of blue,
but on the barb of tIme
The fire'> always, and the VlSlon always,
Ear dull, perhaps, WIth the VISIon, fhttxng
And fadmg at WIll Weavmg WIth pomts of gold, Gold-yellow, saffron The roman shoe, Aurunculeta's
And come shufflIng feet, and crIes" Da nuces'
c. Nuces' " praISe, and Hymena:us . . bnngs the gul to her man . . Or . . here Sextus had seen her . .
TItter of sound about me, always
and from . . Hesperus "
Hush of the older song . . Fades hght from sea-crest, . . And m LydIa walks With palr'd women
. . Peerless among the paIrs, that once m SardIS
17
? " In satIetIes
Fades the lIght flom the sea, 'lnd man) th Ilgs
. . Are set abroad and brought to nund of thee,"
And the vmestocks he untended, llew leaves come to the shoots, North wmd mps 011 the bough, and seas m heal t
Toss up chIll crests,
And the vme stocks he untended
And many thlOgs are set abroad and blOught to mlOd Of thee, Atthls, unfrUltful
The talks ran long m the mght
And from Mauleon, fresh wIth a new earned grade, In maze of approachmg ram-steps, POlcebot-
The aIr was full of women,
And Savamc Mauleon
Gave hIm hIs land and kmght's fee, and he wed the woman Came lust of travel on hml, of 1omerya,
And out of England a kmght wIth slow-hftmg eyelIds
Let fassa lurar a del, put gl1mour upon her
And left her an eIght months gone
. . Came lust of woman upon hIm," POlcebot, now on North road from Spam
(Sea-change, a grey m the water)
And 10 small house by town's edge
Found a woman, changed and famihar face, Hard nIght, and pattmg at mormng
And Plelte won the 51Ogmg, Pleite de Maensac,
Song or land on the throw, and was drcftz hom
And had De TierCl's WIfe and wIth the war they made
Troy m Auvergnat
Wlule Menelaus ptled up the church at port
He kept Tyndarlda Dauph10 stood wIth de Maensac
John BorgIa IS bathed at last (Clock-tIck pIerces the VISIon) TIber, dark WIth the cloak, wet cat gleammg 10 patches
18
? Chck of the hooves, through garbage,
ClutchIng the greasy stone cc And the cloak floated . . Slander lS up betImes
But Varchl of Florence,
Steeped In a dIfferent year, and pondermg Brutus, Then c. l;t")'a p. aX' aVOLS 8EVTEpa. VI
. . Dog-eye" " (to Alessandro)
. . Whether for love of Florence," Varchl leaves It, Saymg . . I saw the man, came up WIth hIm at Venice,
. . I, one wantmg the facts,
. . And no mean labour Or for a pnvy SpIte';) . .
Our Benedetto leaves It,
But ? ? I saw the man Se PZtz';)
rr 0 empta';l For LorenzacclO had thought of stroke m the open But uncertaIn (for the Duke went never unguarded)
. . And would have thrown him from wall
. . Yet feared thiS mIght not end hIm," or lest Alessandro Know not by whom death came, 0 se credesse
. . I f when the foot shpped, when death came upon hun,
. . Lest COUSIn Du1. . e Alessandro thmk he had fallen alone,
. . No fnend to aId hIm m fallmg"
Cazna attende
The lake of Ice there below me
And all of thIS, runs Varchl, dre~med out beforehand In Perugla, caught In the star-maze by Del Carmme, Cast on a natal paper, set WIth an exegesIS, told,
All told to Alessandro, told thnce over,
Who held hIS death for a doom
In abulela But Don Lorenzmo
Whether for love of Florence but
. . 0 se morose, credesse caduto da se "
l;l-ya. , (fl,,),a
SchIaVOnI, caught on the wood-barge,
GIves out the afterbIrth, GIOVannI BorgIa,
TraIls out no more at nights, where Barabello
19
? Prods the Pope's elephant, and gets no crown, where MozarelJo Takes the Calabnan roadway, and for endmg
Is smothered beneath a mule,
a poet's endmg,
Down a stale well-hole, oh a poet's endmg "Sanazarro
. . Alone out of all the court was faIthful to hIm"
For the gOSSIp of Naples' trouble drIfts to North,
Fracastor (lIghtnmg was mtdw1fe) Cotta, and Ser D'Alv1ano, AI poco glorno ed al gran cerchlo d'ombra,
Talk the talks out With NaVlghero,
Burner of yearly Martlals,
(The slavelet IS mourned m vam)
And the next comer says to Were nme wounds,
. . Four men, whIte horse Held on the saddle before hIm " Hooves clmk and shck on the cobbles
SchIaVOnI cloak . . Smk the damn thmg' . .
Splash wakes that chap on the wood-barge
TIber catchtng the nap, the moonlIt velvet,
A wet cat gleamIng 1n patches
cc Se pIa," VarchI, cc 0 empla, ma rtsoluto
cc E ternbtle dehberazlone "
Both saymgs run m the wmd.
Ma se mortsse'
20
? VI
WHAT you have done, Odysseus,
We know what you have done
And that Gu:tllaume sold out hIs ground rents
(Seventh of POltlers, NInth of AqultaIn) to Tant las fotel com aUZIrets
c. Cen e quatre vIngt et velt vetz "
The stone IS ahve In my hand, the crops wxll be thIck In my death-year
T:tll LOUIS IS wed wIth Eleanor
And had (He, Guxllaume) a son that had to wIfe The Duchess of Normandla whose daughter
Was wIfe to KIng Henry e maire del reI Jove
Went over sea t:tll day's end (he, LOUIS, Wlth Eleanor) ComIng at last to Acre
to Ongla, oncle " salth Arnaut
Her uncle commanded In Acre,
That had known hel In gIrlhood (Theseus, son of Aegeus)
And he, LOUIS, was not at ease In that town, And was not at ease by Jordan
As she rode out to the palm-grove
Her scarf In Saladln's C1mler
DIvorced her 10 that year, he LOUIS, dlvorclng thus Aqultalne
And that year Plantagenet marrxed her (that had dodged past 17 swtors)
Et quand 10 reIS LOIS 10 entendlt mout er fasche
N auphal, VeXls, Harry Joven
In pledge for all hIS hfe and Me of all hIS heIrs Shall have GISOrs, and Vexls, Neufchastel
But If no ISSue GISOrs shall revert
? . . Need not wed Ahx m the name
Tuntty holy mdlvlslble RIchard our brother Need not wed Allx once hIs father's ward and But whomso he choose for Ahx, etc
Eleanor, domna Jauzionda, mother of RIchard,
Turnmg on thtrty years (wd have been yeals before tht:. ) By nver-marsh, by gallened church-porch,
Malemorte, Correze, to whom
? ? My Lady of Ventadour . . Is shut by Ebhs 10
cc And wtll not hawk nor hunt
nor get her free 10 the aIr
cc Nor watch fish nse to baIt
c. Nor the glare-Wlllg'd flIes alIght In the creek's edge ? ? Save 10 my absence, Madame
? Que 1a lauzeta mover' . . Send word I ask you to Ebhs
you have seen that maker
. . And finder of songs so far afield as thIS " That he may free her,
who sheds such lIght In the aIr"
E 10 Sordels Sl fo dt Mantovana,
Son of a poor kmght, Sler Escort,
And he delIghted hImself 10 chan~ons
And mIxed WIth the men of the court
And went to the court of RIchard Samt Bontface And was there taken WIth love for hIS WIfe
Cumzza, da Romano That freed her slaves on a Wednesday
Masnatas et servos, witness PICUS de Farmatls
and Don Ehnus and Don Llpus
sons of Farmato de' Farmatl
? CC free of person, free of wIll
cc free to buy, WItness, sell, testate" A manto subtraxlt lpsam
dictum Sordellum concubulsse
(C Wmter and Summer I smg of her glace, As the rose IS faIr, so faIr 15 hel face,
Both Summer and Wmter I SlOg of her, The S'10W makyth me to remember her"
And Calrels was of Sarlat
Theseus from Troezene And they wd have given hIm pOlson
But for the shape of hIS sword-hIlt
? VII
ELEANOR (she spoued In a Bntish clImate) VEAa. v6pos and 'EAE'II"TOALS, and
poor old Homer blmd,
blmd as a bat, Ear, ear for the sea-surge,
rattle of old men's VOiceS And then the phantom Rome,
marble narrow for seats ct 51 pulVlS nullus" saId OVId,
c. Erlt, nullum tamen excute"
Then :file and candles, e II mestiers ecoutes,
Scene for the battle only, but stUl scene,
Pennons and standards y cavals armatz
Not mere succesSIon of strokes, SIghtless narratIon,
And Dante's . . CIOCCO," brand struck m the game Un peu molSl, plancher plus bas que Ie JardIn
. . Contre Ie lambns, fautewl de paIlle,
. . Un Vleux plano, et sous Ie barometre "
The old men's VOICes, beneath the columns of false marble, The modISh and darkIsh walls,
PlScreeter gdrung, and the panelled wood
Suggested, for the leasehold IS
Touched With an lffipreCISlon about three squares, The house too thtck, the palntIngs
a shade too oued
And the great domed head, eon gIl oeem onestt e tard, Moves before me, phantom With weIghted motIon, Grave meessu, dnnkIng the tone of thIngs,
And the old vOice hfts Itself
weavlng an endless sentence
? We also made ghostly VISIts, and the staIr
That knew us, found us agam on the turn of It, Knockmg at empty rooms, seekmg for buned beauty, And the sun-tanned, gracIOus and well-formed fingers LIft no latch of bent bronze, no EmpIre handle
TWIsts for the knocker's fall, no VOIce to answer
A strange conCIerge, m place of the gouty-footed SceptIc agamst all thIS one seeks the hvmg,
Stubborn agamst the fact The wted flowers
Brushed out a seven year SInce, of no effect
Damn the partItIon' Paper, dark brown and stretched, FlImsy and damned part1t1on
lone, dead the long year My hntel, and LlU Ch'e's lmtel
Tlffie blacked out wIth the rubber The Elysee carnes a name on
And the bus behmd me gIves me a date for peg,
Low ce1hng and the Erard and the suver,
These are m tt tlffie" Four cha1rs, the bow-front dresser, The pamer of the desk, cloth top sunk m
. . Beer-bottle on the statue's pedIment'
. . That, Fntz, 1S the era, to-day agamst the past,
tt Contemporary" And the passIOn endures
Agamst the1r actIon, aromas Rooms, agamst chromcles Smaragdos, chrysohthos, De Gama wore stnped pants In Afnca And tt Mountams of the sea gave bIrth to troops",
Le Vieux commode en acaJou beer-bottles of vanous strata,
But tS she dead as Tyro"> In seven years) EMvavs, ~Xaplipos, E'XE7r70hLS
The sea runs m the beach-groove, shakmg the floated pebbles, Eleanor'
The scarlet curtam throws a less scarlet shadow,
? LamplIght 1t BuovIlla, e quel remlr, And all that day
Nlcea moved before me
And the cold grey aIr troubled hel not
For all her naked beauty, bIt not the tropIc skm, And the long slender feet lIt on the curb's marge And her movmg heIght went before me,
We alone havmg bemg And all that day, another day
Thm husks I had known as men, Dry casques of dep1rted locusts
speakmg a shell of speech Propped between chaIrs and table
Words lIke the locust-shells, moved by no mner hemg, A dryness callIng for death,
Another day, between walls of a sham Myceman,
. . Toc" sphmxes, sham-MemphiS columns,
And beneath the Jazz a corte:ll. , a stIffness or stIllness,
Shell of the older house
Brown-yellow wood, and the no colour plaster, Dry professonal talk
now stllhng the III beat mUSlC, House expulsed by thts house
Square even shoulders and the satm skm, Gone cheeks of the dancmg woman,
Scil the old dead dry talk, gassed o u t - It IS ten years gone, makes stIff about her a glass, A petrefactlon of aIr
The old room of the tawdry class asserts Itself, The young men, never'
Only the husk of talk
o VOl che slete m PICCloletta barca,
DIdo choked up With sobs, for her 5lcheus 2. 6
? LIes heavy m my arms, dead we1ght Drownmg, WIth tears, new Eros,
And the hfe goes on, moomng upon bare h1lls, Flame leaps from the hand, the ram 1S hstless, Yet drmks the thlrst from our hps,
sohd as echo,
PaSSlon to breed a form 10 shImmer of ram-blur,
But Eros drowned, drowned, heavy-half dead WIth tears
For dead Slcheus
LIfe to make mock of motIon For the husks, before me, move,
The words rattle shells gIven out by shells The hve man, out of lands and prISons,
shakes the dry pods,
Probes for old WIlls and frIendshIps, and the bIg ! ocust-casques Bend to the tawdry table,
LIft up theIr spoons to mouths, put fOlks m cutlets,
And make sound lIke the sound of VOIces
Lorenzacclo
Bemg more hve than they, more full of flames and VOIces Ma se mor1sse'
Credesse caduto da se, ma se morISse And the tallmddference moves,
a more hvmg shell,
Dnft m the alr of fate, dry phantom, but mtact o Alessandro, cruef and thrIce warned, watcher,
Eternal watcher of thmgs, Of thmgs, of men, of paSSIOns
Eyes floatmg m dry, dark alr,
E bIondo, Wlth glass-grey ms, Wlth an even SIde-fall of halt The stIff, stIll features
? VIII
THESE fragments you have shelved (shored) "Slut'" "BItch'" Truth and Calhop;: Slang10g each other sous les laurlers
That Alessandro was negroId Slgtsmund
Frater tamquam Et compater carzsstme tergo
And Malatesta
EqUlvalent to
hannt de dzcts entza
Glohanm of the MedICI,
Florence
Letter receIved, and 10 the matter of our Messlte GlanozlO,
One from htm also, sent on In form and WIth all due dIspatch, HaVing added your wlShes and memoranda
As to arrang10g peace between you and the K10g of Ragona,
So far as I am concerned, It wd
GIve me the greatest possible pleasure,
At any rate nothlOg wd gIve me more pleasure
or be more acceptable to me,
And I shd hke to be party to It, as was promIsed me,
etther as participant or adherent As for my serVIce money,
Perhaps you and your father wd draw It And send It on to me as qUIckly as pOSSIble And tell the Maestro dz pe1'ltore
That there can be no question of
HIS paIntIng the walls for the moment,
As the mortar IS not yet dry
And It wd be merely work chucked away
(buttato VIa)
? But I want It to be qUIte clear, that untIl the chapels are ready I wlll arrange for hIm to palnt somethlng else
So that both he and I shall
Get as much enjoyment as possIble from It,
And In order that he may enter my serVIce
And also because you WrIte me that he needs cash,
I want to arrange With hIm to gIve hIm so much per year And to assure hIm that he Will get the sum agreed on You may say that I WIll depOSIt securIty
For hIm wherever he hkes
And let me have a clear answer,
For I mean to give hIm good treatment
So that he may come to hve the rest
Of hts hfe m my lands-
Unless you put hIm off It -
And for thIS I mean to make due prOVISIon,
So that he can work as he lIkes,
Or waste hIS tIme as he lIkes
(affattgandose per suo ptacere 0 no non glt manchera la proVlxtone mat)
neveI lackmg prOVlSlon SIGISMUNDUS P ANDOLPHUS DE MALA TESTIS
In campo Ilim Doment VenetorU1n aze 7 aprzlts 1449 contra Cremonam
and because the aforesaId most IllustrIOUS Duke of Mllan
Is content and Wills that the aforesaId Lord 51gISmundo Go mto the serVIce of the most magnIficent commune of the Florentlnes
For alhance defenSIve of the two states,
Therefore between the aforesaid IllustrIOUS Sigismund And the respectable man Agnolo della Stufa,
ambassador, SlndlC and procurator ApPolnted by the ten of the bally, etc, the half
29
?
