[Dedicated to G. M. Marston] <br /> <br /> <br />Pale as the night that pales <br />In the dawn's pearl-pure pavillion, <br />I wait for thee, with my dove's breast <br />Shuddering, a god its bitter guest- <br />Have I not gilded my nails <br />And painted my lips with vermillion ? <br /> <br />Am I not wholly stript <br />Of the deeds and thoughts that obscure thee? <br />I wait for thee, my soul distraught <br />With aching for some nameless naught <br />In its most arcane crypt- <br />Am I not fit to endure thee? <br /> <br />Girded about the paps <br />With a golden girdle of glory, <br />Dost thou wait me, thy slave who am, <br />As a wolf lurks for a strayed white lamb? <br />The chain of the stars snaps, <br />And the deep of night is hoary! <br /> <br />Thou whose mouth is a flame <br />With its seven-edged sword proceeding, <br />Come ! I am writhing with despair <br />Like a snake taken in a snare, <br />Moaning thy mystical name <br />Till my tongue is torn and bleeding! <br /> <br />Have I not gilded my nails <br />And painted my lips with vermillion? <br />Yea ! thou art I; the deed awakes, <br />Thy lightening strikes; thy thunder breaks <br />Wild as the bride that wails <br />In the bridegroom's plumed pavillion!<br /><br />Aleister Crowley<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/ave-adonai/
