The Hollow Land by William Morris
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William Morris >> The Hollow Land
"Christ keep the Hollow Land
All the summer-tide;
Still we cannot understand
Where the waters glide;
Only dimly seeing them
Coldly slipping through
Many green-lipp'd cavern mouths.
Where the hills are blue."
"Then," she said, "come now and look for it, love, a hollow city in
the Hollow Land."
I kissed Margaret, and we went.
Through the golden streets under the purple shadows of the houses we
went, and the slow fanning backward and forward of the many-coloured
banners cooled us: we two alone: there was no one with us. No soul
will ever be able to tell what we said, how we looked.
At last we came to a fair palace, cloistered off in the old time,
before the city grew golden from the din and hubbub of traffic; those
who dwelt there in the old ungolden times had had their own joys,
their own sorrows, apart from the joys and sorrows of the multitude:
so, in like manner, was it now cloistered off from the eager leaning
and brotherhood of the golden dwellings: so now it had its own gaiety,
its own solemnity, apart from theirs; unchanged, and changeable, were
its marble walls, whatever else changed about it.
We stopped before the gates and trembled, and clasped each other
closer; for there among the marble leafage and tendrils that were
round and under and over the archway that held the golden valves were
wrought two figures of a man and woman winged and garlanded, whose
raiment flashed with stars; and their faces were like faces we had
seen or half seen in some dream long and long and long ago so that we
trembled with awe and delight; and turned, and seeing Margaret, saw
that her face was that face seen or half seen long and long and long
ago; and in the shining of her eyes I saw that other face, seen in
that way and no other long and long and long ago - my face.
And then we walked together toward the golden gates, and opened them,
and no man gainsaid us.
And before us lay a great space of flowers.