Above the ruin of God's holy place, Where man-forsaken lay the bleeding rood, Whose hands, when men had craved substantial food, Gave not, nor folded when they cried, Embrace, I saw exalted in the latter days Her whom west winds with natal foam bedewed, Wafted toward Cyprus, lily-breasted, nude, Standing with arms out-stretched and flower-like face. And, sick with all those centuries of tears Shed in the penance for factitious woe, Once more I saw the nations at her feet, For Love shone in their eyes, and in their ears Come unto me, Love beckoned them, for lo! The breast your lips abjured is still as sweet. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SONNET: 29 by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE PREFACE TO ERINNA'S POEMS by ASCLEPIADES OF SAMOS INSTRUCTIONS FOR A BALLET by MAXWELL BODENHEIM THE FAIRY THRALL by MAY (MARY) CLARISSA GILLINGTON BYRON |