Helicon

O green burning to an intenser green,
And a brighter green thereupon,
Is this the home of poetry's fountain?
Is this, then, Mount Helicon?

O, let it be so, the mountain rising
Just where my strength is gone;
Let me have spent that strength wisely,
In seeking Helicon.

I have come, burdened by a pain
That lasts when hope is gone;
I had thought to be healed by death,
Till I heard of Helicon.

I will seek the fountain, for my mind
Is like unto a dying swan;
I would sing a song with my last breath,
A song found on Helicon.

O, fountain, be a gentler Lethe,
Leading to a poet's dawn;
Let not forgetfulness completely black
Be the gift of Helicon.

But let me drink, and awaken in poetry,
My mind frenzied by song;
Be thou my Dionysius, a god of strong wine,
O fountain of Helicon!

And then may a new life begin for me,
Joyous, though not long;
Let me hymn thee in thanks for thy mercy,
O mountain of Helicon!