The Harp of Erin Containing the Poetical Works of the Late Thomas Dermody. In Two Volumes |
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A FRAGMENT. |
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 | The Harp of Erin |  |
251
A FRAGMENT.
The shadowy semblance, lo! is past!—Loudly yells the midnight blast,
And, hark! the death-bell's sullen toll
Strikes upon my shrinking soul!
Whither, whither am I led?
“To the drear caverns of the dead.
Here with murder shalt thou dwell;
Mark yon bleeding phantom well:
Know you not the wound you gave,
You was bloody, he was brave;
In the dark you dealt the blow,
With a hatchet fell'd him low,
His cleft head distended wide,
Hideous hangs upon each side.
Why dost thou enwrithing start,
'Gainst thy ribs why knocks thy heart?
Why, to the taper's glimmering blue,
Gleams thy front with clammy dew?
Welcome to his cell below,
Thou with thy murder'd host must go!”
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My frame in such a frozen grasp;
Fibres from my heart yon tear,
Loose me, loose me, spectre drear;
Oh! ten thousand fathoms deep
I behold a vap'ry steep,
Wild with ecstacy of pain,
Madness rushes on my brain,
Round and round my senses tost,
Now I tumble—I am lost.
| The Harp of Erin | |