Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ACTAEON, by HUGH WESTERN


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ACTAEON, by                    
First Line: I see him stumble down the bank and blink
Last Line: For him who's seen a goddess -- and gone mad.
Subject(s): Actaeon (mythology); Mythology - Classical


I see him stumble down the bank and blink,
Steady his step, and rub his eager eyes
So lately clear, now clouded with surprise
At beauty in the wilderness. I think
None can know better how his pupils shrink,
Like cats' the noonday, when he, startled, spies
Such treasury of silver breast and thighs
As laces moonlight with the brooklet's ink.
And then the changeling stag, the hounds, the blood,
The great heart ribboned by those fangs of fire
More sharp than any tooth, unless Desire
Hath teeth as well as talons. Lucky lad!
To taste how death than life hath greater good
For him who's seen a goddess -- and gone mad.





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