I held it truth with every look
That it dreams away her own effect
That the saints have thought themselves too high
And begged the sinner for respect
They cried “go fetch me water from the desert
Force a drop out of this stone
For nature now needs watering
And cannot live by rain alone”
But the rain has ceased her effort
And I loved the subtle agony
What land is that which harbours
Every height and depth of me?
But from grace to grace we lived and lived
From truth to truth we died and died
The common ground proves us ephemeral
The highest deeds are misapplied
I danced with fools, the old, the ragged pasts
Of worlds that hid themselves for shame
And the beggar girl has played the tunes
Of which only she will know the name