 | The poetical works of James Montgomery |  |
336
WINTER-LIGHTNING.
The flash at midnight!—'twas a light
That gave the blind a moment's sight,
Then sunk in tenfold gloom;
Loud, deep, and long the thunder broke,
The deaf ear instantly awoke,
Then closed as in the tomb:
An angel might have pass'd my bed,
Sounded the trump of God, and fled.
That gave the blind a moment's sight,
Then sunk in tenfold gloom;
Loud, deep, and long the thunder broke,
The deaf ear instantly awoke,
Then closed as in the tomb:
An angel might have pass'd my bed,
Sounded the trump of God, and fled.
So life appears;—a sudden birth,
A glance revealing heaven and earth,
It is and it is not!
So fame the poet's hope deceives,
Who sings for after-times, and leaves
A name—to be forgot:
Life is a lightning-flash of breath,
Fame but a thunder-clap at death.
A glance revealing heaven and earth,
It is and it is not!
So fame the poet's hope deceives,
Who sings for after-times, and leaves
A name—to be forgot:
Life is a lightning-flash of breath,
Fame but a thunder-clap at death.
1834.
| The poetical works of James Montgomery | |