| Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. 1919. The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900. |
| |
| George William Russell ('A. E.'). b. 1853 |
| |
| 873. The Great Breath |
| |
| ITS edges foam'd with amethyst and rose, | |
| Withers once more the old blue flower of day: | |
| There where the ether like a diamond glows, | |
| Its petals fade away. | |
| |
| A shadowy tumult stirs the dusky air; | 5 |
| Sparkle the delicate dews, the distant snows; | |
| The great deep thrills—for through it everywhere | |
| The breath of Beauty blows. | |
| |
| I saw how all the trembling ages past, | |
| Moulded to her by deep and deeper breath, | 10 |
| Near'd to the hour when Beauty breathes her last | |
| And knows herself in death. | |
|
|
