IV   THE EMPEROR

Where the sword rests in the stone
I am there,
where the ocean laps the beach
I am there,
in the blacksmith's forge,
in the magician's cellar;
I survey the land
with the eagle.

My green cloak never changes;
my names are many.
As Arthur, as Alfred
I blow my conch
from the cliff-top, & the plain
echoes with its music.
In the meadhall my people
laugh & sing their stories.

In the meeting of the stones,
in the winning of every wand
I am there;
in the seed of the floating lily,
in fields swelled green by water,
in the mist over the heather,
I am there.

As the sun rises the tide rises
& while scribes work by their windows
I make my last voyage across the waves
& my sword sinks
to the sand.

Where the mind's orbit wanders,
where fish dream in the depths,
where the world's shadow circles,
I am there, I am there.

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