Page:A Treasury of South African Poetry.djvu/230

 THE THREE KINGDOMS. land of Might-have-been!
 * Where long my 'trancéd feet have strayed,

Lured by rich vistas, vaguely seen
 * Through many a velvet-shadowed glade,

Of sheltered vales of virgin peace,
 * And dewy meadows of delight,

And flashing streams, and shimmering seas,
 * And summits soaring out of sight;

While wraith-like over hill and dell
 * A sighing wind for ever goes,

Whose music in its lull and swell
 * A note of witching sadness knows:

With steadfast will I turn my eyes
 * From all your silver mystery:

I list no more the breeze that sighs
 * Its sweet regret from tree to tree.

For there is poison in your breath,
 * And madness in your moaning breeze;

And hidden swamps invite to death,
 * And pale shapes lurk amid the trees:

And many a noble heart and brave,
 * Lured by your beauty's syren snare,

Has found a vain, inglorious grave,
 * Stricken by your miasmic air.