"Ave Atque Vale"

Black dreams; the pale and sorrowful desire,
Whose eyes have looked on Lethe, and have seen,
Deep in the sliding ebon tide serene,
Their own vain light inverted; ashen fire,
With wasted lilies, late and languishing;
Autumnal roses blind with rain; slow foam
From desert-sinking seas, with honeycomb
Of aconite and poppy--these I bring,
With this my bitter, barren love to thee;
And from the grievous springs of memory,
Far in the great Maremma of my heart,
I proffer thee to drink; and on my mouth,
With the one kiss wherein we meet and part,
Leave fire and dust from quenchless leagues of drouth.

--Clark Ashton Smith

(Next in sequence is Sologub.)