The Black Riders

 
I Black riders came from the sea.
 
II Three little birds in a row
 
III In the desert
 
IV Yes, I have a thousand tongues,
 
V Once there came a man
 
VI God fashioned the ship of the world carefully.
 
VII Mystic shadow, bending near me,
 
VIII I looked here;
 
IX I stood upon a high place,
 
X Should the wide world roll away,
 
XI In a lonely place,
 
XII "And the sins of the fathers shall be
 
XIII If there is a witness to my little life,
 
XIV There was crimson clash of war.
 
XV "Tell brave deeds of war."
 
XVI Charity thou art a lie,
 
XVII There were many who went in huddled procession,
 
XVIII In heaven,
 
XIX A god in wrath
 
XX A learned man came to me once.
 
XXI There was, before me,
 
XXII Once I saw mountains angry,
 
XXIII Places among the stars,
 
XXIV I saw a man pursuing the horizon;
 
XXV Behold, the grave of a wicked man,
 
XXVI There was set before me a mighty hill,
 
XXVII A youth in apparel that glittered
 
XXVIII "Truth," said a traveller,
 
XXIX Behold, from the land of the farther suns
 
XXX Supposing that I should have the courage
 
XXXI Many workmen
 
XXXII Two or three angels
 
XXXIII There was one I met upon the road
 
XXXIV I stood upon a highway,
 
XXXV A man saw a ball of gold in the sky;
 
XXXVI I met a seer.
 
XXXVII On the horizon the peaks assembled;
 
XXXVIII The ocean said to me once,
 
XXXIX The livid lightnings flashed in the clouds;
 
XL And you love me
 
XLI Love walked alone.
 
XLII I walked in a desert.
 
XLIII There came whisperings in the winds:
 
XLIV I was in the darkness;
 
XLV Tradition, thou art for suckling children,
 
XLVI Many red devils ran from my heart
 
XLVII "Think as I think," said a man,
 
XLVIII Once there was a man --
 
XLIX I stood musing in a black world,
 
L You say you are holy,
 
LI A man went before a strange God --
 
LII Why do you strive for greatness, fool?
 
LIII Blustering God
 
LIV "It was wrong to do this," said the angel.
 
LV A man toiled on a burning road,
 
LVI A man feared that he might find an assassin;
 
LVII With eye and with gesture
 
LVIII The sage lectured brilliantly.
 
LIX Walking in the sky,
 
LX Upon the road of my life,
 
LXI There was a man and a woman
 
LXII There was a man who lived a life of fire.
 
LXIII There was a great cathedral.
 
LXIV Friend, your white beard sweeps the ground.
 
LXV Once, I knew a fine song,
 
LXVI If I should cast off this tattered coat,
 
LXVII God lay dead in heaven;
 
LXVIII A spirit sped