Chapter II

And so from Paradise I turned my feet,
And the earth claimed me, and I ran to meet
The salutation of the wind and rain,
That swept across a desolate, sad plain.
Then called the mountains and the grassy hills,
Broad seas and rivers, and small tinkling rills:
And there were forests wonderful and dark,
And when the shrill wind ceased, sweet sang the lark,
And I forgot lost love, in pleasant places,
For I found other heavens, and sweeter faces
Smiled from the lake, or laughed behind the reeds;
—But in the night the heart that’s stricken bleeds.
Then once at dawn-time, by a quiet pool,
A goat-legged fellow cried: “Come hither, fool,
And learn the tune that makes the world roll round:
Life, lust and laughter mingle in the sound:
’Twas made with longing and with tears and fire,
But laughter conquered it, and mocked desire.”
And then he took his pipe, this goat-legged man,
And all the winds cried: “Hark, the song of Pan:
Pan who is god of flocks and herds, who dwells
Deep in the woods a-weaving curious spells
And tunes that sob for joy, that thrill and weep—
That charm to laughter and that soothe to sleep.”