A Roundel of Rabelais

by A. C. Swinburne

Theleme is afar on the waters, adrift and afar,

Afar and afloat on the waters that flicker and gleam,

And we feel but her fragrance and see but the shadows that mar Theleme.

In the sun-coloured mists of the sunrise and sunset that stream

As incense from urns of the twilight, her portals ajar

Let pass as a shadow the light of the sound of a dream.

But the laughter that rings from her cloisters that know not a bar

So kindles delight in desire that the souls in us deem

He erred not, the seer who discerned on the seas as a star Theleme.

Contents Public Domain