La prima donna *

" Of Adam's first wife, Lilith, it is told
(The witch he loved before the gift of Eve,)
That, ere the snake's, her sweet tongue could deceive,
And her enchanted hair was the first gold.

And still she sits, young while the earth is old,
And, subtly of herself contemplative,
Draws men to watch the bright web she can weave,
Till heart and body and life are in its hold.

The rose and poppy are her flowers;
for where
Is he not found, O Lilith, whom shed scent
And soft-shed kisses and soft sleep shall snare?
Lo! as that youth's eyes burned at thine, so went
Thy spell through him, and left his straight neck bent
And round his heart one strangling golden hair."

If Thou be so Lilith, so decked with gold
How with mirror Thine , Thou do self
An idolatry, what is there to go into disbelief,
If Thou be that stupendous creature Lilith,
Why is there still people running after Thou
Whence Thou Art made so to worship Beauty Thine,
All by Thyself, needing none,
Why is there so much of chase and run,

Lilith , if Thou be so self sufficient,
Why Thou Art not cause men to appraise
Thy Beauty not by simple praise or hate,
But by loving thy eternal form , as painted prime,

If Thou be the holder of Truth,
Why is there still men so rude,
Why are we still so ignorant
Whence Thou Art so made
Upon canvas holding a world
At thy lap, mirroring all,

Why Canst we see thy LOVE
As turned Adam , the Man , before
He fell for fruit or for  that moment
Which held the human knowledge,

If Thou be that woman first
To save Adam from terrible lust,
Why then Eve was made,
Why then Thou Art kept
Away from the light.

(*Note: based upon a painting as attached of prima Donna;
#laprimadonna : also a poem by Dante Gabriel Rossetti , from which the first few quoted lines are taken and inserted,)