THE FIFTH CANTO

Great bulk, huge mass, thesaurus;

Ecbatan, the clock ticks and fades out;

The bride awaiting the god’ s touch; Ecbatan,

City of patterned streets; again the vision:

Down in the viae stradae, toga’ d the crowd, and arm’ d,

Rushing on populous business, and from parapets

Looked down — I looked, and thought: at North

Was Egypt, and the celestial Nile, blue-deep, cutting low barren land,

Old men and camels working the water-wheels;

Measureless seas and stars,

Iamblichus’ light, the souls ascending,

Sparks, like a partridge covey,

From the “ciocco,” brand struck in the game,

“Et omniformis”:

Air, fire, the pale soft light.

Topaz, I manage, and three sorts of blue; but on the barb of time.

The fire? always, and the vision always,

Ear dull, perhaps, with the vision, flitting

And fading at will. Weaving with points of gold,

Gold-yellow, saffron... the Roman shoe, Aurunculeia’ s

And come shuffling feet, and cries “Da nuces!

“Nuces” praise and Hymenaeus “brings the girl to her man,”

Titter of sound about me, always and from Hesperus...

Hush of the older song: “Fades light from seacrest.

“And in Lydia walks with pair’ d women

“Peerless among the pairs, and that once in Sardis

“In satieties...

“Fades the light from the sea, and many things

“Are set abroad and brought to mind of thee,”

And the vinestocks lie untended, new leaves come to the shoots,

North wind nips on the bough, and seas in heart

Toss up chill crests,

And the vine stocks lie untended

And many things are set abroad and brought to mind

Of thee, Atthis, unfruitful.

The talks ran long in the night.

And from Mauleon, fresh with a new earned grade,

In maze of approaching rain-steps, Poicebot —

The air was full of women. And Savairic Mauleon

Gave him his land and knight’ s fee, and he wed the woman.

Came lust of travel on him, of romerya;

And out of England a knight with slow-lifting eyelids

Lei fassa furar a del, put glamour upon her...

And left her an eight months gone.

Came lust of woman upon him,

Poicebot, now on North road from Spain

( Sea-change, a grey in the water )

And in small house by town’ s edge

Found a woman, changed and familiar face,

Hard night, and parting at morning.

And Pieire won the singing,

Song or land on the throw, Pieire de Maensac, and was dreitz hom

And had De Tierci’ s wife and with the war they made,

Troy in Auvergnat.