LXXVIII BODY’S BEAUTY (LILITH)

LXXVIII

BODY’S BEAUTY

(LILITH)

Of Adam’s first wife, Lilith, it is told

    (The witch he loved before the gift of Eve,)

    That, ere the snake’s, her sweet tongue could deceive,

And her enchanted hair was the first gold.

And still she sits, young while the earth is old,

    And, subtly of herself contemplative,

    Draws men to watch the bright web she can weave,

Till heart and body and life are in its hold.

The rose and poppy are her flowers; for where

    Is he not found, O Lilith, whom shed scent

And soft-shed kisses and soft sleep shall snare?

    Lo! as that youth’s eyes burned at thine, so went

    Thy spell through him, and left his straight neck bent

And round his heart one strangling golden hair.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti LADY LILITH Oil on canvas. 1868 Delaware Art Museum Wilmington, DE

Данте Габриэль Россетти ЛЕДИ ЛИЛИТ Холст, масло. 1868 Делавэрский художественный музей Уилмингтон, Делавэр