 | A Lost Epic and Other Poems |  |
Lo! sixteen centuries had passed away!
When God drove forth the pair, they fell a prey
To darkness and the panic of the night.
On three sides crouched their dread. In front, a light—
A fire—a sword smote every way to keep
The Tree of Life. Their terror made them creep
Nearer the sword. They maddened to escape
The horror without hands and without shape
That lurked in nature, waiting them. The twain
Crept closer. 'Twere less dreadful to be slain
By that fierce splendour, in each other's sight,
Than perish in the vast unhuman night.
They lay beneath the sword; they felt the wind
It made.
When God drove forth the pair, they fell a prey
To darkness and the panic of the night.
On three sides crouched their dread. In front, a light—
A fire—a sword smote every way to keep
The Tree of Life. Their terror made them creep
Nearer the sword. They maddened to escape
The horror without hands and without shape
That lurked in nature, waiting them. The twain
Crept closer. 'Twere less dreadful to be slain
55
Than perish in the vast unhuman night.
They lay beneath the sword; they felt the wind
It made.
This Man and Woman were mankind.
| A Lost Epic and Other Poems | |