After Returning From Lyonnesse (After Hardy)

WHEN I set out for Lyonnesse,
A hundred miles away,
The rime was on the spray,
And starlight lit my lonesomeness
When I set out for Lyonnesse
A hundred miles away.

What would bechance at Lyonnesse
While I should sojourn there
No prophet durst declare,
Nor did the wisest wizard guess
What would bechance at Lyonnesse
While I should sojourn there.

When I came back from Lyonnesse
With magic in my eyes,
All marked with mute surmise
My radiance rare and fathomless,
When I came back from Lyonnesse
With magic in my eyes!

Thomas Hardy


WHEN I had been from Lyonesse
A hundred years it seemed,
A few scant threads of what was dreamed
Served to illume my wretchedness
When I had been from Lyonesse
A hundred years it seemed.

WHAT had occurred at Lyonesse
The first rule locks away
The golden rule of Lyonesse that holds both night and day
Though it was won with soul's prowess
What had occurred at Lyonesse
The first rule locks away.

When I return to Lyonnesse
The next time, I will stay
In hidden lands where magic lies, and burning signs move in the skies.
And none are cruel to high or less.
When I return to Lyonnesse
The next time, I will stay!


Simon BJ