 | Sacra Poesis |  |
A LONGING AFTER IMMORTALITY.
O, I would stand on that dizzy height,
To which towering eagles wing their flight,
Yon beetling cliff, that rises steep
From out of the dashing, roaring deep;
And into the welkin vast would I leap,
And far on the hurricane's breath would sweep
Through the buoyant air, at a bound,
The reeling world around!
To which towering eagles wing their flight,
Yon beetling cliff, that rises steep
From out of the dashing, roaring deep;
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And far on the hurricane's breath would sweep
Through the buoyant air, at a bound,
The reeling world around!
And when the dark storm rages high,
And the mad waves dash at the frowning sky,
T'were joy to me to ride on the blast!
And feel my strong wings cleaving fast
The thick and palpable thundercloud
Which wrappeth me round, as a sable shroud:
'Twere bliss to feel the spirit free,
No fetter—no fetter—for me!
And the mad waves dash at the frowning sky,
T'were joy to me to ride on the blast!
And feel my strong wings cleaving fast
The thick and palpable thundercloud
Which wrappeth me round, as a sable shroud:
'Twere bliss to feel the spirit free,
No fetter—no fetter—for me!
And whence, my soul, this pleasing hope,
Of mingling with the sky,
And basking in the sunny cope
Of dread infinity?
Doth it not proclaim a birth
Nobler than the things of earth,
Doth not every feeling tense,
Every passion deep and free,
Find the sluggish joys of sense
Weariness and slavery?
Of mingling with the sky,
And basking in the sunny cope
Of dread infinity?
Doth it not proclaim a birth
Nobler than the things of earth,
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Every passion deep and free,
Find the sluggish joys of sense
Weariness and slavery?
Yes—all consciousness, all thought,
And fancy with her brightness fraught,
Affection's torrent, calm and clear,
Reason bright, and quailing fear,
Each hope, each wish, each fond desire,
That the swelling soul inspire,
Demonstrate the man to be
An heir of immortality!
And fancy with her brightness fraught,
Affection's torrent, calm and clear,
Reason bright, and quailing fear,
Each hope, each wish, each fond desire,
That the swelling soul inspire,
Demonstrate the man to be
An heir of immortality!
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