A god came to a man And said to him thus: "I have an apple "It is a glorious apple "Aye, I swear by my ancestors "Of the eternities before this eternity "It is an apple that is from "The inner thoughts of heaven's greatest. "And this I will hang here "And then I will adjust thee here "Thus-you may reach it. "And you must stifle your nostrils "And control your hands "And your eyes "And sit for sixty years "But,-leave be the apple." The man answered in this wise: "Oh, most interesting God "What folly is this? "Behold, thou hast moulded my desires "Even as thou hast moulded the apple."How, then? "Can I conquer my life "Which is thou? "My desires? "Look you, foolish god "If I thrust behind me "Sixty white years "I am a greater god than god "And, then, complacent splendor, "Thou wilt see that the golden angels "That sing pink hymns " Around thy throne-top "Will be lower than my feet." |