Page:Darío - Eleven Poems.djvu/25



the pale afternoon the clouds go by Aimlessly roving in the quiet sky. His head between his hands, the dreamer weaves His dream of clouds and Autumn-colored leaves. Ah, his intimate sorrow, his long sighs. And the glad radiance that has dimmed his eyes! And all the tender glances, the blond tresses, The rose hands over-brimming with caresses, The sudden faces smiling everywhere In the gold-dusted curtains of the air!

In the pale afternoon A friendly faerie maiden comes to me And tells me tales of many a secret thing Fraught with the spell and music of the moon, And I have learned what wonder the birds sing, And what the breezes bring over the sea, All that lies hidden in the mist or gleams, A fleeting presence, in a young girl's dreams.

And once the thirst of infinite desire Possessed me like a fever, and I said, I want to feel all radiance, fragrance, fire And joy of life within me, to inspire My soul forever!" And the faerie maid