The Rose of the Night

The dark rose of thy mouth

Draw nigher, draw nigher!

Thy breath is the wind of the south,

A wind of fire,

The wind and the rose and darkness,

O Rose of my Desire!

Deep silence of the night,

Husht like a breathless lyre,

Save the sea's thunderous might,

Dim, menacing, dire,

Silence and wind and sea, they are thee,

O Rose of my Desire!

As a wind-eddying flame

Leaping higher and higher,

Thy soul, thy secret name,

Leaps thro' Death's blazing pyre,

Kiss me, Imperishable Fire, dark Rose,

O Rose of my Desire!