PENELOPE

Far to the cities of the sun
The hero's gone;
Shining his sails on the salt sea.
Always the wind calls after me,
Ten long years beyond I see,
Years that flee -
I know not where he wanders.

*
Bright are the towers of Ilium
As the sun -
Brighter is their burning.
Always the shores of distant isles
Tempting his heart with secret wiles
Across the miles,
I know not where he lingers.

*
Summer so mocks with her golden eyes;
Empty skies;
Marble halls are lonely.
Always the dark night's haunted fears;
By day my loom to weave the years
And the tears:
I know not why he tarries.

*
I call on the Gods when the sun goes down,
All alone,
Seeking his ship on the vast sea.
Always the dawnlight wakes on me
Watching the stars that wander free -
Wild as he -
I know not of his coming.

*
Lone is the isle of Ithaca,
Still so fair
As thy wife Penelope ....
Always the suitors tempt my soul -
Come, strong arm, and bend thy bow -
Lay them low!
Come, Odysseus, to me.

He knows not of my yearning.