Return to Chartres

WE CAME to Chartres, riding the green plain,
The spear of hope, the incorruptible towers,
Stone upon stone, leaf upon leaf,
The great tree rooted in the heart of France
Blazing eternally with sacred flowers.
We came to Chartres, the house without a stain.
The mastery of passion by belief,
With all its aspiration held in balance,
We came to Chartres, the magic spear of grain,
The spear of wheat, forever nourishing,
The never-wasted stalk, the ever-blessing.

And there we meditated on our tragic age,
Split at the heart, flowering without a stem,
For we are barren men, haunted by rage
Who cannot find our hope here though we came,
Now all the hope we have is human love:
Passion without belief destroys our love.