Page 20 - Contrast1964Spring

ISOLDE

o world, ,

You hold subtleties infinite; ,,l
Pleasure soul-paining,
P ainsoul-searing, (
Aloneness soul-drowning,
Soul-sharing (Birth and Death!). f

I built a fortress around
My delicately naked self __
The tender sensitivity of my being __
Ego, which aborts at the least blow, to twist the soul --
Make it humpbacked, dwarfed.
Armies assaulted my bastion -- failed.
Impregnable citadel of my soul!

But one day a seagull
Freshly from Avalon,
Ligh ted on topmo st spire;
All fell at its feathery touch.

II My wealth of treasure Isolde, lies before thee,
Flame-feathered, green-eyed bird of the Sea.

o Seagull, breath of life, Waf.1d'rer of Ocean,

I have seen your keep,

Glimpsed- its Croesian treasures;
Give me of your jewels--
Join with mine your gold __

And we shall build a Camelot,
Mystic and faerie,

Upon enchanted Avalon.

But you must fly the Ocean wind,
Free! Free!

And you must follow the will-o-the-wisp,
Free! Free!

O! When you tire, fall soul-sick,
Come to Avalon,
Come to me.

And we shall sail the salt winds, flame,

And we shall catch yon beckoning
And homeward fly to Avalon,
To dwell beside the sea.

Pete Alexander

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