Dirge of the Four Cities
Filed by Aine MacDermot
The Dirge of the Four Cities
Poems and Dramas, Vol VII
by Fiona MacLeod (William Sharp)
“There are four cities that no mortal eye has seen but that the soul knows; these are Gorias, that is in the east; and Finias, that is in the south; and Murias, that is in the west; and Falias that is in the, north. And the symbol of Falias is the stone of death, which is crowned with Pale fire. And the symbol of Gorias is the dividing sword. And the symbol of Finias is a spear. And the symbol of Murias is a hollow that is filled with water and fading light.” - The Little Book of the Great Enchantment
“Wind comes from the spring star in the East; fire from the summer star in the South; water from the autumn star in the West; wisdom, silence and death from the star in the North.” - The Divine Adventure
The Dirge of the Four Cities
“The four cities of the world that was: the sunken city of Murias, and the city of Gorias, and the city of Finias, and the city of Falias.” - Ancient Gaelic Chronicle
Finias and Falias,
Where are they gone?
Does the wave hide Murias–
Does Gorias know the dawn?
Does not the wind wail
In the city of gems?
Do not the prows sail
Over fallen diadems
And spires of dim gold
And the pale palaces
Of Murias, whose tale was told
Ere the world was old?
Do women cry Alas! . . .
Beyond Finias?
Does the eagle pass
Seeing but her shadow on the grass
Where once was Falias:
And do her towers rise
Silent and lifeless to the frozen skies?
And do whispers and sighs
Fill the twilights of Finias
With love that has not grown cold
Since the days of old?
Hark to the tolling of bells
And the crying of wind!
The old spells
Time out of mind,
They are crying before me and behind!
I know now no more of my pain,
But am as the wandering rain
Or as the wind’s shadow on the grass
Beyond Finias of the Dark Rose:
Or, ‘mid the pinnacles and still snows
Of the Silence of Falias,
I go: or am as the wave that idly flows
Where the pale weed in songless thickets grows
Over the towers and fallen palaces
Where the Sea-city was,
The city of Murias.
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