Chapter III

I sank my soul upon a sea of dreams;
I floated through aërial heights divine
Where saffron clouds a-glint with amber beams
Shimmering strangely, stretched in shining line.
I winged my way to Heaven's very dome,
And on Hell's portal read the horrid sign;
I danced upon the wavelet's crested foam,
And swept tempestuous on the stormy wind.
On earth like some vague terror, did I roam
While moaning misery pursued behind.
Whene'er I sang, my song had one refrain
With anxious care and artifice refined,
Until my soul's accompaniment would wane
And wax to one _motiv_: unending pain.