 | Sketches of Natural History |  |
109
THE LION.
Lion, thou art girt with might!
King by uncontested right;
Strength, and majesty, and pride
Are in thee personified!
Slavish doubt or timid fear
Never came thy spirit near;
What it is to fly, or bow
To a mightier than thou,
Never has been known to thee,
Creature terrible and free!
King by uncontested right;
Strength, and majesty, and pride
Are in thee personified!
Slavish doubt or timid fear
Never came thy spirit near;
What it is to fly, or bow
To a mightier than thou,
Never has been known to thee,
Creature terrible and free!
Power the Mightiest, gave the Lion
Sinews like to bands of iron;
Gave him force which never failed;
Gave a heart that never quailed.
Triple-mailéd coat of steel,
Plates of brass from head to heel,
Less defensive were in wearing
Than the Lion's heart of daring;
Nor could towers of strength impart,
Trust like that which keeps his heart.
Sinews like to bands of iron;
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Gave a heart that never quailed.
Triple-mailéd coat of steel,
Plates of brass from head to heel,
Less defensive were in wearing
Than the Lion's heart of daring;
Nor could towers of strength impart,
Trust like that which keeps his heart.
What are things to match with him?
Serpents old, and strong and grim,
Seas upon a desert-shore,
Mountain-wildernesses hoar,
Night and storm, and earthquakes dire,
Thawless frost and raging fire—
All that's strong, and stern and dark,
All that doth not miss its mark,
All that makes man's nature tremble,
Doth the Desert-king resemble!
Serpents old, and strong and grim,
Seas upon a desert-shore,
Mountain-wildernesses hoar,
Night and storm, and earthquakes dire,
Thawless frost and raging fire—
All that's strong, and stern and dark,
All that doth not miss its mark,
All that makes man's nature tremble,
Doth the Desert-king resemble!
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When he sends his roaring forth,
Silence falls upon the earth;
For the creatures great and small,
Know his terror-breathing call,
And as if by death pursued,
Leave to him a solitude.
Silence falls upon the earth;
For the creatures great and small,
Know his terror-breathing call,
And as if by death pursued,
Leave to him a solitude.
Lion, thou art made to dwell
In hot lands intractable,
And thyself, the sun, the sand,
Are a tyrannous triple band;
Lion-king and desert-throne,
All the region is your own!
In hot lands intractable,
And thyself, the sun, the sand,
Are a tyrannous triple band;
Lion-king and desert-throne,
All the region is your own!
| Sketches of Natural History | |