Page:A New Zealand verse (1906).pdf/248

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212
The Land of My Desire.
At times a wayward kiss I quaffed From some sea-nymph beside my barque,But as in very joy I laughed The Stars forsook me, in the dark.
One day on the horizon spread, Like some long cloud surprised in sleep,I saw an Island lift its head A little way above the deep.
And there, in the cool shadow-time I landed, weary of the Sea,While maidens of the sunny clime Gave draught on draught of Love to me.
And when I laid me down to rest Tired of the dance, the feast and wine,And full red lips too closely pressed, Too often and too hot, on mine;
One woke me in the night and said— “Receive the crown that thou hast won,”And placing it upon my head She called me her “beloved one.”
And there I saw a harlot stand, The lustre dead in eyes and hair,Alone with me upon the land Of my Desire, and . . . my Despair.

D. M. Ross

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