 | Imaginary Sonnets |  |
51
FALLOPIUS TO HIS DISSECTING KNIFE.
(1550.)
Now shalt thou have thy way, thou little blade,
So bright and keen; now shalt thou have thy way,
And plod no more through bodies cold as clay,
But through quick flesh, by fiery pulses swayed.
So bright and keen; now shalt thou have thy way,
And plod no more through bodies cold as clay,
But through quick flesh, by fiery pulses swayed.
A glorious and munificent duke hath made
Thee a great gift: live convicts; and to-day,
Though Nature shudder, thou shalt say thy say
On Life's deep springs where God so long forbade.
Thee a great gift: live convicts; and to-day,
Though Nature shudder, thou shalt say thy say
On Life's deep springs where God so long forbade.
Fear not lest Mercy blunt thy edge, or make
The hand that holds thee o'er the living man
With any human hesitation shake;
The hand that holds thee o'er the living man
With any human hesitation shake;
But thou shalt tell me why his life-blood ran
Thus in his veins; what Life is; and shalt slake
The thirst of thirsts that makes my cheek so wan.
Thus in his veins; what Life is; and shalt slake
The thirst of thirsts that makes my cheek so wan.
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