The Goddess in the Wood

In a flowered dell the Lady Venus stood,
  Amazed with sorrow. Down the morning one
  Far golden horn in the gold of trees and sun
Rang out; and held; and died.... She thought the wood
Grew quieter. Wing, and leaf, and pool of light
  Forgot to dance. Dumb lay the unfalling stream;
  Life one eternal instant rose in dream
Clear out of time, poised on a golden height.

Till a swift terror broke the abrupt hour.
The gold waves purled amidst the green above her;
  And a bird sang. With one sharp-taken breath,
By sunlit branches and unshaken flower,
The immortal limbs flashed to the human lover,
  And the immortal eyes to look on death.
The Goddess in the Wood

by Rupert Brooke, 1916
