Fancy
Far in the Further East the skilful craftsmanFashioned this fancy for the West’s delight.This rose and azure Dragon, crouching softlyUpon the satin skin, close-grained and white.
And you lay silent, while his slender needlesPricked the intricate pattern on your arm,Combining deftly Cruelty and Beauty,That subtle union, whose child is charm.
Charm irresistible: the lovely somethingWe follow in our dreams, but may not reach.The unattainable Divine Enchantment,Hinted in music, never heard in speech.
This from the blue design exhales towards me,As incense rises from the Homes of Prayer,While the unfettered eyes, allured and rested,Urge the forbidden lips to stoop and share;
Share in the sweetness of the rose and azureTraced in the Dragon’s form upon the whiteCurve of the arm. Ah, curb thyself, my fancy,Where would’st thou drift in this enchanted flight?