Erotica

Excerpt from book: 'Twixt Ivory Pales RONDEAU 'TwiXT ivory pales uprose a precious dome, A shrine thatched over where no man might come, For vestals only could the entrance win To worship her who sat enthroned therein? A Goddess fresh begotten of the foam. Until one day I that way chanced to roam, Half open stood the gateway in the gloom, Revealing splendours of the shrine within 'Twixt ivory pales. Marshalling my forces without beat of drum, The next dark night when Nature' face was dumb, I forced the ward and swiftly entered in Regardless of the sacrilege and sin. The shrine was mine?and now I call it home 'Twixt ivory pales. How Shall I Woo Thee? How shall I woo thee, Love? Under the langYous noon, Bringing thee roses red And redder gold, to spread Speech till thy senses swoon ? Or when the twilight falls, With the soft aid Of music, heavenly maid, Scaling thy walls? How shall I win thee, Love? Standing forth in the sun, Claiming thee as the meed Of some heroic deed Greatly dared, greatly done? Or with my wistful eyes, Flattering thy sunny face, Praising thy stately grace, Silence's prize? How shall I wear thee, Love? Throned mid the flaunted crowd, Lifted aloft and crowned With men's applause, the sound Making me proud ? Or shrined within my heart, Hidden where none may come, Under a golden dome Always apart. Possession Around my neck her soft arms twine, My kisses fleck her bosom's snow, Her breath intoxicates like wine, And sends the blood's imperious flow Mantling across my eyes; I know At last that she is wholly mine. And I am hers. Each pulse of me Beats red rebellion, and each vein Swells with an overwhelming sea Of sad, glad, pleasurable pain Pervading every sense, my brain Throbs with a mad intensity. Passing through realms of star a...