XI

Paola and Francesca, dead these years, And lost forever unto Rimini! Lanciotto's garden blooms no more where ye Found love is laughter, love is also tears; Is peace and pain, high hopes and sudden fears; That love is gain and loss, an ecstasy Of heaven and then hell's hot eternity; A balm that soothes the soul, a flame that sears.

I, too, know of a secret garden where Pale asphodels are rivals of the rose; And all life's opposites are gathered there Before the spirit's agony, that knows Gladness ineffable through loving One Who hath no equal underneath the sun.