THE THUNDER GODS by JANET B. MONTGOMERY MCGOVERN

TO-DAY the Thunder Gods strike on their anvils in heaven.
My heart glows like the red-hot iron
On the anvil of the village smith;
For I know that my Beloved has not forgotten.
So did the Thunder Gods strike
When he swore that I was the full moon of his life.
And though soon after he gave up his life
In battle for our Father, and Emperor,
And I gave up mine for the father who gave my life,
That he, being old, and without a son to provide,
Might have the comforts that I could buy from men
By dancing and singing—and that which a woman may give.
Yet when the Thunder Gods strike, I know
That my Beloved is thinking, too, of me,
And is waiting for me in the land
Where those go who die for the Emperor.
For a man like my Beloved loves but once,
And his love will draw me up to him
Though I be but a dance-girl;
For he will know that a woman's virginity
And her soul belong to her love; not to her lovers.

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