The Centaurs

Playing upon the hill three centaurs were !
They lifted each a hoof and stared at me,
And stamped upon the dust.

They stamped upon the dust, they snuffed upon the air,
And all their movements had the fierce glee
Of power and pride and lust.

Of power and pride and lust ! then with a shout
They tossed their heads and wheeled and galloped round.
In furious brotherhood.

In furious brotherhood, around, about,
They charged, they swerved, they leaped ; then, bound on
bound,
They raced into the wood.

This poem is taken from A Poetry Recital, published in June 1925. A a collection of poems Stephens used during his first American speaking tour in 1925. As such, the poems selected were those which could be read aloud with effect, and some are less poems than vocal excercises.
Two editions, a New York and a London one, were published in 1925 with slightly differing order and content. A new edition, dated 1926, added a foreward and seven poems to the 1925 American version. The new poems were: "Little Things," "The Snare," "The Merry Music," "The Fifteen Acres," "The Crest Jewel," "Thy Soul," and "Christmas in Freelands."