The King in Yellow — Dedication and opening verse

BY ROBERT W. CHAMBERS Original publication date: 1895

THE KING IN YELLOW IS DEDICATED TO MY BROTHER

“Along the shore the cloud waves break,

The twin suns sink behind the lake,

The shadows lengthen

In Carcosa.

Strange is the night where black stars rise,

And strange moons circle through the skies

But stranger still is

Lost Carcosa.

Songs that the Hyades shall sing,

Where flap the tatters of the King,

Must die unheard in

Dim Carcosa.

Song of my soul, my voice is dead;

Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed

Shall dry and die in

Lost Carcosa.”

Cassilda’s Song in “The King in Yellow,” Act i, Scene 2.