I,
priestess
of this temple, offer up
Prayers for the land.
Prayers for the land.
Yeats
'
'I weave the shoes of Sorrow,
Soundless shall be the footfall light
In all men's ears of Sorrow,
Sudden and light. '
ANASHUYA AND VIJAYA
_A little Indian temple in the Golden Age. Around it
a garden; around that the forest. _ ANASHUYA,
_the young priestess, kneeling within the temple_.
ANASHUYA.
SEND peace on all the lands and flickering corn. --
O, may tranquillity walk by his elbow
When wandering in the forest, if he love
No other. --Hear, and may the indolent flocks
Be plentiful. --And if he love another,
May panthers end him. --Hear, and load our king
With wisdom hour by hour. --May we two stand,
When we are dead, beyond the setting suns,
A little from the other shades apart,
With mingling hair, and play upon one lute.
VIJAYA [_entering and throwing a lily at her_]
Hail! hail, my Anashuya.
ANASHUYA.
No: be still.
I, priestess of this temple, offer up
Prayers for the land.
VIJAYA.
I will wait here, Amrita.
ANASHUYA.
By mighty Brahma's ever rustling robe,
Who is Amrita? Sorrow of all sorrows!
Another fills your mind.
VIJAYA.
My mother's name.
ANASHUYA [_sings, coming out of the temple_]
_A sad, sad thought went by me slowly:
Sigh, O you little stars! O, sigh and shake your blue apparel!
The sad, sad thought has gone from me now wholly:
Sing, O you little stars! O sing, and raise your rapturous carol
To mighty Brahma, who has made you many as the sands,
And laid you on the gates of evening with his quiet hands. _
[_Sits down on the steps of the temple_]
Vijaya, I have brought my evening rice;
The sun has laid his chin on the gray wood,
Weary, with all his poppies gathered round him.
VIJAYA.
The hour when Kama, full of sleepy laughter,
Rises, and showers abroad his fragrant arrows,
Piercing the twilight with their murmuring barbs.
'I weave the shoes of Sorrow,
Soundless shall be the footfall light
In all men's ears of Sorrow,
Sudden and light. '
ANASHUYA AND VIJAYA
_A little Indian temple in the Golden Age. Around it
a garden; around that the forest. _ ANASHUYA,
_the young priestess, kneeling within the temple_.
ANASHUYA.
SEND peace on all the lands and flickering corn. --
O, may tranquillity walk by his elbow
When wandering in the forest, if he love
No other. --Hear, and may the indolent flocks
Be plentiful. --And if he love another,
May panthers end him. --Hear, and load our king
With wisdom hour by hour. --May we two stand,
When we are dead, beyond the setting suns,
A little from the other shades apart,
With mingling hair, and play upon one lute.
VIJAYA [_entering and throwing a lily at her_]
Hail! hail, my Anashuya.
ANASHUYA.
No: be still.
I, priestess of this temple, offer up
Prayers for the land.
VIJAYA.
I will wait here, Amrita.
ANASHUYA.
By mighty Brahma's ever rustling robe,
Who is Amrita? Sorrow of all sorrows!
Another fills your mind.
VIJAYA.
My mother's name.
ANASHUYA [_sings, coming out of the temple_]
_A sad, sad thought went by me slowly:
Sigh, O you little stars! O, sigh and shake your blue apparel!
The sad, sad thought has gone from me now wholly:
Sing, O you little stars! O sing, and raise your rapturous carol
To mighty Brahma, who has made you many as the sands,
And laid you on the gates of evening with his quiet hands. _
[_Sits down on the steps of the temple_]
Vijaya, I have brought my evening rice;
The sun has laid his chin on the gray wood,
Weary, with all his poppies gathered round him.
VIJAYA.
The hour when Kama, full of sleepy laughter,
Rises, and showers abroad his fragrant arrows,
Piercing the twilight with their murmuring barbs.
