seajules! It's a beautiful poem.

I'm just discovering it now, because just now sovay linked me back to this entry... it was from before I was reading either of your journals.

I like the repetition, too--I can imagine it sung (actually, I can in particular imagine it sung by Kate Bush, not when she's doing her really high singing, but when she dips down low).

the Marsh-King looked up in his darkness
and saw her shining
the Marsh-King looked up in his ugliness
and saw her beauty
the Marsh-King looked up in his coldness
and saw her heat
and he wanted

So he took

I can just hear her sing that last line, low and husky.