The House Of Dust: Part 03: 12: Witches' Sabbath Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABBCDECFGGFHIJKLLMMN OPOQJKRSRTUUVWVXYZQA 2Q B2GC2GBB D2E2D2F2WG2H2G2 ZI2RJ2I2J2EOGGK2L2K2 MMGGM2HN2M2O2NO2NGGP 2P2UQ2R2S2S2A2T2U2S2 U2V2S2W2 X2Y2Y2CCBB S2RZ2URS2R2S2UNRA3NB 3B3EDGGS2EEUS2NS2 Y2 C3XD3X S2N2S2S2S2S2S2S2EEGG CJJS2S2Z2S2Z2S2 F2E3Y2S2S2Y2A2ZA2 EE S2C2S2S2S2S2GGWWS2S2 S2S2N2CO2CS2S2S2S2M| Now when the moon slid under the cloud | A |
| And the cold clear dark of starlight fell | B |
| He heard in his blood the well known bell | B |
| Tolling slowly in heaves of sound | C |
| Slowly beating slowly beating | D |
| Shaking its pulse on the stagnant air | E |
| Sometimes it swung completely round | C |
| Horribly gasping as if for breath | F |
| Falling down with an anguished cry | G |
| Now the red bat he mused will fly | G |
| Something is marked this night for death | F |
| And while he mused along his blood | H |
| Flew ghostly voices remote and thin | I |
| They rose in the cavern of his brain | J |
| Like ghosts they died away again | K |
| And hands upon his heart were laid | L |
| And music upon his flesh was played | L |
| Until as he was bidden to do | M |
| He walked the wood he so well knew | M |
| Through the cold dew he moved his feet | N |
| And heard far off as under the earth | O |
| Discordant music in shuddering tones | P |
| Screams of laughter horrible mirth | O |
| Clapping of hands and thudding of drums | Q |
| And the long drawn wail of one in pain | J |
| To night he thought I shall die again | K |
| We shall die again in the red eyed fire | R |
| To meet on the edge of the wood beyond | S |
| With the placid gaze of fed desire | R |
| He walked and behind the whisper of trees | T |
| In and out one walked with him | U |
| She parted the branches and peered at him | U |
| Through lowered lids her two eyes burned | V |
| He heard her breath he saw her hand | W |
| Wherever he turned his way she turned | V |
| Kept pace with him now fast now slow | X |
| Moving her white knees as he moved | Y |
| This is the one I have always loved | Z |
| This is the one whose bat soul comes | Q |
| To dance with me flesh to flesh | A2 |
| In the starlight dance of horns and drums | Q |
| - | |
| The walls and roofs the scarlet towers | B2 |
| Sank down behind a rushing sky | G |
| He heard a sweet song just begun | C2 |
| Abruptly shatter in tones and die | G |
| It whirled away Cold silence fell | B |
| And again came tollings of a bell | B |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| This air is alive with witches the white witch rides | D2 |
| Swifter than smoke on the starlit wind | E2 |
| In the clear darkness while the moon hides | D2 |
| They come like dreams like something remembered | F2 |
| Let us hurry beloved take my hand | W |
| Forget these things that trouble your eyes | G2 |
| Forget forget Our flesh is changed | H2 |
| Lighter than smoke we wreathe and rise | G2 |
| - | |
| The cold air hisses between us Beloved beloved | Z |
| What was the word you said | I2 |
| Something about clear music that sang through water | R |
| I cannot remember The storm drops break on the leaves | J2 |
| Something was lost in the darkness Someone is dead | I2 |
| Someone lies in the garden and grieves | J2 |
| Look how the branches are tossed in this air | E |
| Flinging their green to the earth | O |
| Black clouds rush to devour the stars in the sky | G |
| The moon stares down like a half closed eye | G |
| The leaves are scattered the birds are blown | K2 |
| Oaks crash down in the darkness | L2 |
| We run from our windy shadows we are running alone | K2 |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| The moon was darkened across it flew | M |
| The swift grey tenebrous shape he knew | M |
| Like a thing of smoke it crossed the sky | G |
| The witch he said And he heard a cry | G |
| And another came and another came | M2 |
| And one grown duskily red with blood | H |
| Floated an instant across the moon | N2 |
| Hung like a dull fantastic flame | M2 |
| The earth has veins they throb to night | O2 |
| The earth swells warm beneath my feet | N |
| The tips of the trees grow red and bright | O2 |
| The leaves are swollen I feel them beat | N |
| They press together they push and sigh | G |
| They listen to hear the great bat cry | G |
| The great red bat with the woman's face | P2 |
| Hurry he said And pace for pace | P2 |
| That other who trod the dark with him | U |
| Crushed the live leaves reached out white hands | Q2 |
| And closed her eyes the better to see | R2 |
| The priests with claws the lovers with hooves | S2 |
| The fire lit rock the sarabands | S2 |
| I am here she said The bough he broke mdash | A2 |
| Was it the snapping bough that spoke | T2 |
| I am here she said The white thigh gleamed | U2 |
| Cold in starlight among dark leaves | S2 |
| The head thrown backward as he had dreamed | U2 |
| The shadowy red deep jasper mouth | V2 |
| And the lifted hands and the virgin breasts | S2 |
| Passed beside him and vanished away | W2 |
| I am here she cried He answered 'Stay ' | - |
| And laughter arose and near and far | X2 |
| Answering laughter rose and died | Y2 |
| Who is there in the dark he cried | Y2 |
| He stood in terror and heard a sound | C |
| Of terrible hooves on the hollow ground | C |
| They rushed were still a silence fell | B |
| And he heard deep tollings of a bell | B |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| Look beloved Why do you hide your face | S2 |
| Look in the centre there above the fire | R |
| They are bearing the boy who blasphemed love | Z2 |
| They are playing a piercing music upon him | U |
| With a bow of living wire | R |
| The virgin harlot sings | S2 |
| She leans above the beautiful anguished body | R2 |
| And draws slow music from those strings | S2 |
| They dance around him they fling red roses upon him | U |
| They trample him with their naked feet | N |
| His cries are lost in laughter | R |
| Their feet grow dark with his blood they beat and | A3 |
| beat | N |
| They dance upon him until he cries no more | B3 |
| Have we not heard that cry before | B3 |
| Somewhere somewhere | E |
| Beside a sea in the green evening | D |
| Beneath green clouds in a copper sky | G |
| Was it you was it I | G |
| They have quenched the fires they dance in the darkness | S2 |
| The satyrs have run among them to seize and tear | E |
| Look he has caught one by the hair | E |
| She screams and falls he bears her away with him | U |
| And the night grows full of whistling wings | S2 |
| Far off one voice serene and sweet | N |
| Rises and sings | S2 |
| - | |
| 'By the clear waters where once I died | Y2 |
| In the calm evening bright with stars ' | - |
| Where have I heard these words Was it you who sang them | C3 |
| It was long ago | X |
| Let us hurry beloved the hard hooves trample | D3 |
| The treetops tremble and glow | X |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| In the clear dark on silent wings | S2 |
| The red bat hovers beneath her moon | N2 |
| She drops through the fragrant night and clings | S2 |
| Fast in the shadow with hands like claws | S2 |
| With soft eyes closed and mouth that feeds | S2 |
| To the young white flesh that warmly bleeds | S2 |
| The maidens circle in dance and raise | S2 |
| From lifting throats a soft sung praise | S2 |
| Their knees and breasts are white and bare | E |
| They have hung pale roses in their hair | E |
| Each of them as she dances by | G |
| Peers at the blood with a narrowed eye | G |
| See how the red wing wraps him round | C |
| See how the white youth struggles in vain | J |
| The weak arms writhe in a soundless pain | J |
| He writhes in the soft red veiny wings | S2 |
| But still she whispers upon him and clings | S2 |
| This is the secret feast of love | Z2 |
| Look well look well before it dies | S2 |
| See how the red one trembles above | Z2 |
| See how quiet the white one lies | S2 |
| - | |
| Wind through the trees and a voice is heard | F2 |
| Singing far off The dead leaves fall | E3 |
| 'By the clear waters where once I died | Y2 |
| In the calm evening bright with stars | S2 |
| One among numberless avatars | S2 |
| I wedded a mortal a mortal bride | Y2 |
| And lay on the stones and gave my flesh | A2 |
| And entered the hunger of him I loved | Z |
| How shall I ever escape this mesh | A2 |
| Or be from my lover's body removed ' | - |
| Dead leaves stream through the hurrying air | E |
| And the maenads dance with flying hair | E |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| The priests with hooves the lovers with horns | S2 |
| Rise in the starlight one by one | C2 |
| They draw their knives on the spurting throats | S2 |
| They smear the column with blood of goats | S2 |
| They dabble the blood on hair and lips | S2 |
| And wait like stones for the moon's eclipse | S2 |
| They stand like stones and stare at the sky | G |
| Where the moon leers down like a half closed eye | G |
| In the green moonlight still they stand | W |
| While wind flows over the darkened sand | W |
| And brood on the soft forgotten things | S2 |
| That filled their shadowy yesterdays | S2 |
| Where are the breasts the scarlet wings | S2 |
| They gaze at each other with troubled gaze | S2 |
| And then as the shadow closes the moon | N2 |
| Shout and strike with their hooves the ground | C |
| And rush through the dark and fill the night | O2 |
| With a slowly dying clamor of sound | C |
| There where the great walls crowd the stars | S2 |
| There by the black wind riven walls | S2 |
| In a grove of twisted leafless trees | S2 |
| Who are these pilgrims who are these | S2 |
| These three the one of whom stands u | M |
Conrad Potter Aiken
(1)
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About The House Of Dust: Part 03: 12: Witches' Sabbath
The House Of Dust: Part 03: 12: Witches' Sabbath is a poem by Conrad Potter Aiken. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
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