I
In that fair capital where Pleasure, crownedAmidst her myriad courtiers, riots and rules,I too have been a suitor. Radiant eyesWere my life’s warmth and sunshine, outspread armsMy gilded deep horizons. I rejoicedIn yielding to all amorous influenceAnd multiple impulsion of the flesh,To feel within my being surge and swayThe force that all the stars acknowledge too.Amid the nebulous humanityWhere I an atom crawled and cleaved and sundered,I saw a million motions, but one law;And from the city’s splendor to my eyesThe vapors passed and there was nought but Love,A ferment turbulent, intensely fair,Where Beauty beckoned and where Strength pursued.