Page:A New Zealand verse (1906).pdf/240
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
204
Nausicaa.
Spread in the broad halls of Alcinous,
And never cease to prate of the rich robes
And priceless gems around my chamber hung
While my fond mother’s face is that of one
To whom the days of far past youth return.
Nay, when my stately father looks on me,
Plays round his firm-set lips a rare, faint smile.
Surely I should be happy, yet, ah yet,
The comely bridegroom whom they chose for me
Stirs not my pulses with his homely speech
And homely manners, by this dull land bred,
Where never yet was heard the clash of arms,
The shout of victory, the warrior’s joy.
The too kind Gods have compassed us about
With the broad buckler of the restless sea,
And great Poseidon watches over us,
So that no foeman e’er can work us harm.
In sooth it is not well that men should live
Thus lapp’d in peace through all the countless years.
The very heart of manhood must rot out,
Where none have braved a foe, or dared a wound.
Not always did I think so—these new thoughts
Of manliness and glory broke on me
When first that godlike hero touched our shores,
And told his story, five long years agone.
Let me recall, though the last time it be,
The first sweet words he uttered at my feet:
“O Queen, I kneel before thee, whether thou
Be goddess or be mortal; if thou be
A goddess—one of them that hold broad Heaven—
To Artemis, the daughter of great Zeus,
For beauty and for stature and for grace,
Fain would I liken thee; but if thou be
A child of men who dwell upon this earth,
Thrice blessed are thy sire and sainted mother—
Thrice blessed are thy brethren; yea their souls
And never cease to prate of the rich robes
And priceless gems around my chamber hung
While my fond mother’s face is that of one
To whom the days of far past youth return.
Nay, when my stately father looks on me,
Plays round his firm-set lips a rare, faint smile.
Surely I should be happy, yet, ah yet,
The comely bridegroom whom they chose for me
Stirs not my pulses with his homely speech
And homely manners, by this dull land bred,
Where never yet was heard the clash of arms,
The shout of victory, the warrior’s joy.
The too kind Gods have compassed us about
With the broad buckler of the restless sea,
And great Poseidon watches over us,
So that no foeman e’er can work us harm.
In sooth it is not well that men should live
Thus lapp’d in peace through all the countless years.
The very heart of manhood must rot out,
Where none have braved a foe, or dared a wound.
Not always did I think so—these new thoughts
Of manliness and glory broke on me
When first that godlike hero touched our shores,
And told his story, five long years agone.
Let me recall, though the last time it be,
The first sweet words he uttered at my feet:
“O Queen, I kneel before thee, whether thou
Be goddess or be mortal; if thou be
A goddess—one of them that hold broad Heaven—
To Artemis, the daughter of great Zeus,
For beauty and for stature and for grace,
Fain would I liken thee; but if thou be
A child of men who dwell upon this earth,
Thrice blessed are thy sire and sainted mother—
Thrice blessed are thy brethren; yea their souls