The Nameless Quest in The Gate of the Sanctuary from The Temple of the Holy Ghost (Collected Works, Vol I) by Aleister Crowley.

“‘Even I myself—my youth within me said:
Go, seek this folly; fear not for the dead,
And God is with thine arm! I reached the ridge,
And saw the river and the ghastly bridge
I told you of. Even then, even there, I fled.
Nor knight, nor king—a miserable midge!
‘Yet from my shame I dare not turn and run.
My oath grows urgent as my days are done.
Almost mine hour is on me: for its sake
I tell you this, as if my heart should break:—
The infinite desire—a burning sun!
The listening fear—the sun-devouring snake!'” [via]

Consider also:

  1. “Loved, and no sin done! Ay, the world shall see The quest is first–a love less terrible. Yet, as I ride toward the edge of snow That cuts the blue, I think. For even so Comes reason to me: ‘Oh, return, return! What folly is it for two souls to burn With hell’s own fire! What is this quest of woe? What is the end? Consider and discern!’ Banish the thought! My working reason still Is the rebellious vassal to my will, Because I will it. That is God’s own mind. I cast all thought and prudence to the wind: On, to the quest! The cursed parrot hill Mocks on, on, on! The thought is left behind.”
  2. “Smitten by Beauty down I fell as dead– So strikes the sunlight on a miner’s head. Blind, stricken, crushed! That vast effulgence stole, Flooded the caverns of my secret soul, And gushed in waves of weeping. I was wed Unto a part, and could not grasp the whole.”
  3. “Night came upon me thus–a wizard hand Grasping with silence the reluctant land. Through night I clomb–behind me grew the light Reflected in the portal of the night. I reached the crest at dawn–pallid I stand, Uncomprehending of the sudden sight. The river and the bridge! The river flows, Tears of young orphans for its limpid woes. The red bridge quivers–how my spirit starts, Its seeming glory built of widows’ hearts! And yet I could disdain it–heaven knows I had no dear ones for their counterparts.
  4. “The quest is mine! Here ends mortality In contemplating the eternal Thee.”
  5. “Oh! my pure heart! Adulterous love began So subtly to identify the man With its own perfumed thoughts. So steals the grape Into the furtive brain–a spirit shape Kisses my spirit as no woman can. I love her–yes; and I have no escape. I never spoke, I never looked! But she Saw through the curtains of the soul of me, And loved me also! It is very well. I am well started on the road to Hell.”