18 AUGUST 1928, Page 12

Protean Love

0 PROTEAN Love, thou com'st in every shape,

Thou seekest me, and there is no escape !

Thou art at once the clear sun in the skies, And the thick cloud that hides him from mine eyes Lest the full glory should destroy my sight.

Thou art a breathless whisper in the night, Music of lutes, as eve's blue shadows fall, A midnight hush—and morning's trumpet call

A well's deep coolness, and a ravenous flame,

New every moment, changing, yet the same, A swan's warm bosom, and his kisses cold, A cloud, a lightning flash, a shower of gold And I, despite this constant heart in me, Semele, Leda, lo, Dame. JAMES LAVER.