| Higginson and Bigelow, comps. American Sonnets. 1891. | | | | The Arctic Circe | | By Clinton Scollard (1860–1932) |
| | | UNLIKE the soft enchantress known of yore | |
| To Grecian men who sailed the balmy brine— | |
| Dwelling in odorous gardens bowered with vine, | |
| Where amorous waves crept up the shining shore— | |
| She rules an isle where sullen surges roar, | 5 |
| Where stern, immaculate peaks rise, line on line, | |
| And lures her victims with cold eyes that shine | |
| ’Neath pallid brows portentous evermore. | |
| Yet her far songs of fame have wrought such charms | |
| That men, forgetful of fair life’s eclipse, | 10 |
| Brave those still realms whereto she challengeth; | |
| But when they feel her cruel, clinging arms, | |
| The pressure of her stony, pulseless lips, | |
| They find her kisses ope the door of death! | | | | |
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