Page:Love Poems and Others.djvu/38

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RED MOON-RISE

The train in running across the weald has fallen into a steadier strokeSo even, it beats like silence, and sky and earth in one unbrokeEmbrace of darkness lie around, and crushed between them all the looseAnd littered lettering of leaves and hills and houses closed, and we can useThe open book of landscape no more, for the covers of darkness have shut uponIts written pages, and sky and earth and all between are closed in one.
And we are smothered between the darkness, we close our eyes and say “Hush!” we tryTo escape in sleep the terror of this immense deep darkness, and we lieWrapped up for sleep. And then, dear God, from out of the twofold darkness, redAs if from the womb the moon arises, as if the twin-walled darkness had bledIn one great spasm of birth and given us this new, red moon-riseWhich lies on the knees of the darkness bloody, and makes us hide our eyes.
The train beats frantic in haste, and struggles awayFrom this ruddy terror of birth that has slid downFrom out of the loins of night to flame our wayWith fear; but God, I am glad, so glad that I drown
xxvi.
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