 | Scenes from Scripture with Other Poems |  |
113
THE ATLANTIC.
116
Roll on, thou Ocean, dark and deep,
Thou wilderness of waves!
Where all the tribes of earth might sleep
In boundless graves.
Thou wilderness of waves!
Where all the tribes of earth might sleep
In boundless graves.
The sunbeams on thy bosom wake,
Yet never pierce thy gloom;
The tempests sweep, yet never shake,
Thy mighty tomb.
Yet never pierce thy gloom;
The tempests sweep, yet never shake,
Thy mighty tomb.
Great mystery, unfathomed bier,
Thy secret, who hath told?
Guilt, power, and passion's wild career,
Man, and his gold.
Thy secret, who hath told?
Guilt, power, and passion's wild career,
Man, and his gold.
There lie Earth's myriads in the pall,
Secure from sword and storm,
And he, the feaster on them all,
The canker-worm.
Secure from sword and storm,
And he, the feaster on them all,
The canker-worm.
117
Bright from Heaven's hand, thy mountain's brow
Once basked in morning's beam;
And loved thy midnight Moon to glow,
On grove and stream.
Once basked in morning's beam;
And loved thy midnight Moon to glow,
On grove and stream.
And stately from thy tree-crowned height,
Looked down the holy fane;
And filled thy valley of delight
The golden grain.
Looked down the holy fane;
And filled thy valley of delight
The golden grain.
And floated on thy twilight sky,
The dewy fields' perfume,
The vineyard's breath of luxury;
Now all—the tomb!
The dewy fields' perfume,
The vineyard's breath of luxury;
Now all—the tomb!
An ocean shrouds thy glory now;
Where are thy great and brave,
Lords of the sceptre and the bow?
Answer, wild wave!
Where are thy great and brave,
Lords of the sceptre and the bow?
Answer, wild wave!
118
Crime deepened on the recreant land,
Long guilty, long forgiven.
There Power upreared the bloody hand,
Pride scoffed at Heaven!
Long guilty, long forgiven.
There Power upreared the bloody hand,
Pride scoffed at Heaven!
Then came the word of overthrow!
The judgment-thunders pealed,
The fiery earthquake burst below,
Her doom was sealed!
The judgment-thunders pealed,
The fiery earthquake burst below,
Her doom was sealed!
Now in her halls of ivory,
Lie ocean-weed and serpents' slime;
Buried from man and angel's eye,
The Land of Crime!
Lie ocean-weed and serpents' slime;
Buried from man and angel's eye,
The Land of Crime!
| Scenes from Scripture with Other Poems | |