 | Abaddon, the spirit of destruction ; and other poems |  |
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THE DAWN OF THE DECADE.
Long had I listened, free from mortal fear,
With inward stillness and submitted mind,
When lo! its folds far waving on the wind,
I saw the train of the departing year!
With inward stillness and submitted mind,
When lo! its folds far waving on the wind,
I saw the train of the departing year!
How I re-centre my immortal mind
In the deep Sabbath of meek self-content;
Cleansed from the vaporous passions that bedim
God's image, sister of the Seraphim!—
Coleridge.
In the deep Sabbath of meek self-content;
Cleansed from the vaporous passions that bedim
God's image, sister of the Seraphim!—
From the dim shrine of ages come thou forth,
Bright year! in thy pure robe of light and love,
And shed upon the changed and darkened earth
The empyreal hues that ever bloom above!
Come forth, ye destined days! and gently move
Along the dream-land of youth's gay romance,
And, with a prophet's holy gladness, prove
The visions true that glitter in your glance,
As on to years of joy their fairy steps advance!
Bright year! in thy pure robe of light and love,
And shed upon the changed and darkened earth
The empyreal hues that ever bloom above!
Come forth, ye destined days! and gently move
Along the dream-land of youth's gay romance,
And, with a prophet's holy gladness, prove
The visions true that glitter in your glance,
As on to years of joy their fairy steps advance!
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Deep shadows hide revealments of events,
That brood in thy dark bosom; but thy knell
Sounds through the solitudes of being, whence
Time startles on our gaze, the doom to tell
Of myriads trembling o'er the last farewell;
And vague presages of the awakened mind
On the broad skirts of thy cloud-banner swell,
And voiceless prophecies float on the wind
To bid the evil fear—the good to be resigned.
That brood in thy dark bosom; but thy knell
Sounds through the solitudes of being, whence
Time startles on our gaze, the doom to tell
Of myriads trembling o'er the last farewell;
And vague presages of the awakened mind
On the broad skirts of thy cloud-banner swell,
And voiceless prophecies float on the wind
To bid the evil fear—the good to be resigned.
The chill night airs moan in the withered grass,
The tedded grain is garner'd up—the flock
With bowed heads quiver as the frost-fiends pass,
And seek the shelter of the beetling rock;
The leafless woods with dismal voices mock
The storm-king as he rides through cheerless skies,
And the deep mountain feels the rushing shock
Of winter, on whose bosom nature dies,
And birds, leaves, flowers and streams forsake their pleasantries.
The tedded grain is garner'd up—the flock
With bowed heads quiver as the frost-fiends pass,
And seek the shelter of the beetling rock;
The leafless woods with dismal voices mock
The storm-king as he rides through cheerless skies,
And the deep mountain feels the rushing shock
Of winter, on whose bosom nature dies,
And birds, leaves, flowers and streams forsake their pleasantries.
The son of toil from mead and field retires,
Stores the rich maize and serves the generous steed,
Content with health and hope and honest sires,
Who knew not wealth, remorse, nor bitter need;
While, 'mid the city's pomp, wrung bosoms bleed,
And riot laughs 'mid naked misery's cries,
Trembling with anguish like a desert reed,
And plumed and banner'd fashion flaunts the skies
With mockeries of earth's woe and glittering pageantries.
Stores the rich maize and serves the generous steed,
Content with health and hope and honest sires,
Who knew not wealth, remorse, nor bitter need;
While, 'mid the city's pomp, wrung bosoms bleed,
And riot laughs 'mid naked misery's cries,
Trembling with anguish like a desert reed,
And plumed and banner'd fashion flaunts the skies
With mockeries of earth's woe and glittering pageantries.
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This hath been ever; callous pomp preludes
The burglar's dark atrocities, and crime
Haunts the pale prodigal and around him broods
O'er midnight deeds that steep the heart of time.
Condemned and banished from hope's sunny clime,
Wedded to guilt by desolation's curse,
Youth's better thoughts and manhood's aim sublime
Vanish before despair that follies nurse,
And leave the victim where no change could make him worse.
The burglar's dark atrocities, and crime
Haunts the pale prodigal and around him broods
O'er midnight deeds that steep the heart of time.
Condemned and banished from hope's sunny clime,
Wedded to guilt by desolation's curse,
Youth's better thoughts and manhood's aim sublime
Vanish before despair that follies nurse,
And leave the victim where no change could make him worse.
Bring forth the criminal, stern justice! hale
The offender to atone for edicts broken!
Who comes? the quivering outcast, wild and pale?
No, 't is Society, whose voice hath spoken
Ruin to hopelessness; and many a token,
'Mid its vain blazon, ratifies the deed!
But who shall doom the tyrant, whom no ken
Can track or power condemn? Let justice read
The uttered will of God and see the assassin bleed!
The offender to atone for edicts broken!
Who comes? the quivering outcast, wild and pale?
No, 't is Society, whose voice hath spoken
Ruin to hopelessness; and many a token,
'Mid its vain blazon, ratifies the deed!
But who shall doom the tyrant, whom no ken
Can track or power condemn? Let justice read
The uttered will of God and see the assassin bleed!
Time to the cold extortioner can bring
No joy but gold, no profit but increase;
A frozen sea, his heart can never spring
To shield the friendless and shed holy peace
On life's wild ocean!—for the golden fleece,
Though th' Argo's slave, he suffers, tortures, bends
To baseness, courts contempt, and may not cease
To feast on agonies, making fit amends
For a hoar age of guilt by bribery when it ends.
No joy but gold, no profit but increase;
A frozen sea, his heart can never spring
To shield the friendless and shed holy peace
On life's wild ocean!—for the golden fleece,
Though th' Argo's slave, he suffers, tortures, bends
To baseness, courts contempt, and may not cease
To feast on agonies, making fit amends
For a hoar age of guilt by bribery when it ends.
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But years on poverty confer the bliss
Of a near close, and guide the weary soul,
Through penitence, to meet the Earth-King's kiss
With an abiding faith, that may control
The dread and awe that o'er all spirits roll;
Wearied by toil uncheered, the child of grief
Resigns his portion of earth's bitter dole,
Wraps his worn thoughts in blest Religion's sheaf,
And lies down to his rest secure of long relief.
Of a near close, and guide the weary soul,
Through penitence, to meet the Earth-King's kiss
With an abiding faith, that may control
The dread and awe that o'er all spirits roll;
Wearied by toil uncheered, the child of grief
Resigns his portion of earth's bitter dole,
Wraps his worn thoughts in blest Religion's sheaf,
And lies down to his rest secure of long relief.
Ye hasten on, devoted days! and bear
Change, trial, peril on your awful wings,
Unsuccoured suffering and unwitnessed care,
The wreck of empires and the fall of kings!
Oh, thickly crowd most dread imaginings
Of all that man must bear ere love can link
The amities of life—ere mercy's springs,
Unsealed, flow forth for passion's slaves to drink,
And men, from bondage loosed, may utter what they think.
Change, trial, peril on your awful wings,
Unsuccoured suffering and unwitnessed care,
The wreck of empires and the fall of kings!
Oh, thickly crowd most dread imaginings
Of all that man must bear ere love can link
The amities of life—ere mercy's springs,
Unsealed, flow forth for passion's slaves to drink,
And men, from bondage loosed, may utter what they think.
Weep, vigil stars! be veiled, thou queen of light!
Eye of the universe, great sun! retire!
For War, in hauberk mail, comes up through night
To kindle on God's shrine earth's idol fire;
And paynim banner and unholy lyre
Mock the great rites by martyrs offered there;
Heathen and atheist, in hate's fierce desire,
Band their bold legions with the fiends of air,
And Antichrist leads on to trample and to tear.
Eye of the universe, great sun! retire!
For War, in hauberk mail, comes up through night
To kindle on God's shrine earth's idol fire;
And paynim banner and unholy lyre
Mock the great rites by martyrs offered there;
Heathen and atheist, in hate's fierce desire,
Band their bold legions with the fiends of air,
And Antichrist leads on to trample and to tear.
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The King of Sabaoth shall meet the foe,—
Wreck and convulsion herald Him along,
And the hills quiver and vast oceans glow
Before His presence! stained and troubled long,
His true adorers shall uplift their song,
And rebel armies mingle with the dust!
Then unbelief, woe, want and sin and wrong
Shall sink to Hades, and the true and just
A thousand years rejoice in their immortal trust!
Wreck and convulsion herald Him along,
And the hills quiver and vast oceans glow
Before His presence! stained and troubled long,
His true adorers shall uplift their song,
And rebel armies mingle with the dust!
Then unbelief, woe, want and sin and wrong
Shall sink to Hades, and the true and just
A thousand years rejoice in their immortal trust!
Beautiful vision! Poesy hath had
Her multitude of dreams—her holy bowers,
Creatures of purity and brightness, clad
With the soul's sunshine, crowned by deathless flowers,
Breathing heaven's joy and leading on the hours;
But none so fair as this—oh, who shall see
The maranatha broken? the dark towers
Of insult and oppression low? or be,
When dawns the day of peace from heaven's eternity?
Her multitude of dreams—her holy bowers,
Creatures of purity and brightness, clad
With the soul's sunshine, crowned by deathless flowers,
Breathing heaven's joy and leading on the hours;
But none so fair as this—oh, who shall see
The maranatha broken? the dark towers
Of insult and oppression low? or be,
When dawns the day of peace from heaven's eternity?
Patience, meantime, must wait on power, and pride
Hurl back reflected scorn, and wisdom hold
Counsel with prudence; duty hath defied
Ancient authority, and, mild yet bold,
The unanswering tyrant on his throne controuled;
And conscious Virtue in an adverse time
May triumph, and to love all hatred mould,
Endure reproach and bear the charge of crime,
Yet in the elysium dwell of hallowed thought sublime.
Hurl back reflected scorn, and wisdom hold
Counsel with prudence; duty hath defied
Ancient authority, and, mild yet bold,
The unanswering tyrant on his throne controuled;
And conscious Virtue in an adverse time
May triumph, and to love all hatred mould,
Endure reproach and bear the charge of crime,
Yet in the elysium dwell of hallowed thought sublime.
| Abaddon, the spirit of destruction ; and other poems | |