Epithalamium (1945)

Trembled we have in the wind,

In the damp, in the fury of the night.

Reclined have they in the warmth,

In the perfumed security of the home.

The fear of the dark we have known

And the startling crack of a twig,

The roar, the whirl and the hiss of rain,

While on a couch

In the safety of a drawing-room

They have murmured and yawned

In ascetic content.

Trembled we have in the heat

Of unrestrained rapture,

In the cool, in the starry purple of night,

And kissed in the settling dew;

We of the Earth.

Chaste and controlled have they sat

In the warmth

Under the static lights of the home,

While we have roamed

In primeval gloom,

But in joy without bound;

We of the Earth:

Incorrect, incorrigible, immoral.

They of the drawing-room:

Correct, proper, and clean in thought,

Indeed!

Gentleman, a toast to the bride!

To the bridegroom!

To the drawing-room!