 | The Judgement of the Flood |  |
I.
Heart; be not downcast: cheerly, cheerly.Some be there thou hast loved too dearly,
Things that have won too much regard,
Trials that have been overhard;
Shipwreck of hopes—thou Mariner
In seas untried—thou trespasser
On alien shores—thou sorely tempted:
Thou dupe of Faith; whiles, unexempted
From chance, and change, who fondly trusted
A world too old; a weapon rusted;
An icy globe with snow o'er-crusted,
That slips, and crunches as we roll it,
Uphill and downhill, with our feet
Taught, like a gymnast, to control it,
Yet—or betrayed, or indiscreet—
Still sliding from its surface found;
Till, fallen from off the treacherous round,
Sheer into space we gyrate; while the skies
Laugh all about us, with their starry eyes.
| The Judgement of the Flood | |