A PROPITIOUS MEETING.

Propitious dawn smiles on him wandering

And fretful in the evil forest deeps;

The heavy night's long, bitter rumour sleeps;

The sun's clear song makes the horizon ring.

The scent of sage and thyme is as a sting

Unto his jaded sense, the wind that sweeps

The blue sea round the promontory steeps

Freshens with hope his fate's proud blossoming.

The glory of Joy into his soul returns,

And his heroic dream leaps up and burns,

Even as this dawn's far-flung vermilion,

And lo! at the horizon, very calm,

Pacing their steeds, and holding out their palm,

The Kings he deemed dead marching in the sun.

Contemporary Belgian Poetry Selected and Translated by Jethro Bithell · 第 67 / 232 题