 | Narcissus and Other Poems |  |
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I. THE SPIRIT OF THE MOUNTAIN TORRENT.
I mock the moaning of the maddened sea
In fathomless gorges far withdrawn, and down
I drag the screaming crags resistlessly
From ledge to ledge through storm and rainbow crown.
I sing of vessels trapt in utter night,
That shiver down a roaring gulf of wind,
Before them sudden blackness, and behind
Waste hissing of the waves in foaming white.
In fathomless gorges far withdrawn, and down
I drag the screaming crags resistlessly
From ledge to ledge through storm and rainbow crown.
I sing of vessels trapt in utter night,
That shiver down a roaring gulf of wind,
Before them sudden blackness, and behind
Waste hissing of the waves in foaming white.
I fold the feverish eyelids of the day
To court confusion of the crazy dark;
I shroud the sunbeam in my ceaseless spray
And drown the slender singing of the lark;
I race in the swift eagle's flight, and roll
The eager flashes of his yellow eye;
I rage beside the hurricane, and sigh
'Mid seas of silent snow about the pole.
To court confusion of the crazy dark;
I shroud the sunbeam in my ceaseless spray
And drown the slender singing of the lark;
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The eager flashes of his yellow eye;
I rage beside the hurricane, and sigh
'Mid seas of silent snow about the pole.
I dance along the ruins of the world
Wrapt in my own impenetrable breath;
Stride I in fury on the storm-winds whirled
With war and famine, pestilence and death.
I sing along the desert in the sun,
I play amidst his rays and plume my wings;
I thunder in the columned dust that flings
The veil of death, nor man nor beast can shun.
Wrapt in my own impenetrable breath;
Stride I in fury on the storm-winds whirled
With war and famine, pestilence and death.
I sing along the desert in the sun,
I play amidst his rays and plume my wings;
I thunder in the columned dust that flings
The veil of death, nor man nor beast can shun.
Hear me, O hear! I cease not evermore:
Me the eternal Future changes not,
Ye bubbles broke upon a sounding shore,
Ye worms that creep into the earth and rot!
I only live: I dip and dart and skim,
And weave my flight through elemental spray;
Who battles me, ruthless I sweep away,—
Who yields, oblivion swiftly merges him.
Me the eternal Future changes not,
Ye bubbles broke upon a sounding shore,
Ye worms that creep into the earth and rot!
I only live: I dip and dart and skim,
And weave my flight through elemental spray;
Who battles me, ruthless I sweep away,—
Who yields, oblivion swiftly merges him.
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II. THE SPIRIT OF MAN.
Sing on, thou shape of death, thy savage song,
I will defy thee, though the foam-waves roll,
I, in the shivering night, so lone, so long,
Waiting for thee—a naked human soul:
I will defy thee, though thy laws should give
Pause to my breath in act of utterance,
Though in each tortuous twist and trick of chance
My life be lapped, I will defy; and live.
I will defy thee, though the foam-waves roll,
I, in the shivering night, so lone, so long,
Waiting for thee—a naked human soul:
I will defy thee, though thy laws should give
Pause to my breath in act of utterance,
Though in each tortuous twist and trick of chance
My life be lapped, I will defy; and live.
I am of thee, World-torrent; and who braves
Thy strength shall share thy strength; so sweep away
This body, still athwart thy raging waves
My hands outreaching round thy soul I lay;
And hold thee fast for ever. As I cling
Painfully persevering, in my ears
The surging of the mighty water clears
To one sweet harmony; and, like a wing
Thy strength shall share thy strength; so sweep away
This body, still athwart thy raging waves
My hands outreaching round thy soul I lay;
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Painfully persevering, in my ears
The surging of the mighty water clears
To one sweet harmony; and, like a wing
Pulsing in distant skies, is borne the sound
Of that far chaunt whose charm no mortal man,
Hearing, forgets for ever; for around
The dreams of childhood when his life began,
His formless youthful fancies, and above
All after-cries and cravings still it rang
Imperiously insistent where it sang
The will of God, the wonder of His love.
Of that far chaunt whose charm no mortal man,
Hearing, forgets for ever; for around
The dreams of childhood when his life began,
His formless youthful fancies, and above
All after-cries and cravings still it rang
Imperiously insistent where it sang
The will of God, the wonder of His love.
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