 | Collected poems of Samuel Davies : 1723-1761 |  |
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XIII. A Description of a Storm, May 9, 1751.
I.
Now when the War of Elements is o'er,And Heav'n's Artill'ry cease to flash and roar;
Calm'd by His sovereign Nod, who bids
Th' etherial Forces rage or fall;
Who in dread Majesty serenely rides
On wild unruly Hurricanes and Storms;
While all their most outragious Forms
Tamely obey His mighty Call,
To purge the Air, or shake this guilty Ball,
To scathe the sturdy Oak, or blast audacious Worms.
Now recollect my Muse, the solemn Scene,
And rouse the sleeping Tempest up again.
II.
The solemn Scene appears! My EyesBehold the glomerating Deluge rise,
And heavy Oceans floating up the Skies:
First, distant Murm'rings from the West
With rumbling Sound break through the Air,
And bid the World, Prepare;
Strait anxious Expectation heaves the Breast,
Presaging Horror stares intense,
And, shuddering, thro' the Window looks from whence
The vapoury Magazines advance:
When lo! th' aërial Oceans roll,
Lour deeper still, and gain upon the Sky;
And on the West-Wind's Wings, above Controul,
Draw nearer still, and nearer as they fly.
Now Fear begins to palpipate,
And looks, and looks with doubtful Eye,
If haply the collecting Tempest yet
May dissipate, or pass obliquely by.
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III.
But faster still the thick'ning Clouds advance,And cast a darker Frown;
With fiercer Glare the livid Lightnings glance,
And blust'ring Winds rush on with hollow, solemn Sound;
Now through the bending Forests sweep,
And rock the trembling Dome;
Blend Rows of stately Trees in one long shatter'd Heap,
Whirl Clouds of Dust on high, and wrap
All Æther in a wide deep-louring Gloom.
A dismal Twilight frowns; the Sun
Through the thick Dust in vain emits his Ray;
Absorpt in all-surrounding Clouds, the Day
Sickens and faints at Noon.
IV.
And now above and all aroundMajestic Thunders roll with murm'ring Sound,
Convulse the Air, and rock the Ground.
Now rumbling in the dark aërial Hall,
Till scattering far away
The horrid Murmurings decay,
And die away and fall.
Now quick as Thought, to the keen Flash
Sudden succeeds the horrid Crash
Crush'd terrible, shocking the Heart;
Amaz'd, aghast, and stunn'd we start,
Entranc'd, and doubtful if we live,
And the oppressive Shock survive.
V.
Still the dire Lightning with malignant GlareIn flaming Curves wheels through the Air;
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Sudden in various Windings cuts the Cloud;
Another here, another there
Darts on the winking Eye, till all the Hemisphere
One wide-expanded Sheet of flashing Flame appear;
While Peals on Peals still undistinguish'd crowd,
And Heav'n's eternal Cannons roar aloud.
VI.
Now conscious Guilt the sudden Bolt awaits,And hardly hopes to 'scape;
Struck with dire-boding Horror, palpitates,
And startles at each bursting Clap.
The Sword of Justice brandish'd high
Draws fiery Circles through the Air;
And as the curving Lightnings fly,
And threatning Thunder murmurs through the Sky.
The hardy Bosom pants, and thinks Destruction nigh.
Ye hardy Sinners, yield and bow;
Nor dare Omnipotence to strike the Blow;
Heavy, but O! divinely slow!
Say, are you able to withstand
Th' almighty Vengeance of that Hand
Which whirls the Bolt, and guides it where
The flaming Embassy to bear,
To rive the stately Pine, or burn and tear
Th' aspiring Fabric, or with sulph'rous Breath
Blast the audacious Wretch with sudden Death.
VII.
Happy the guiltless Conscience now!Serene he hears his Father's thundring Voice;
Amid the Terrors calm, he dare rejoice,
When loudest Thunders roar, and fiercest Tempests blow:
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The harmless Lightnings flash along and play,
And his Almighty Guardian's Pow'r display.
Should angry Fire and Thunder rend
Heav'n's Convex, and in one Confusion blend
Heav'n, Earth, and Sea and Air:
Should all the Wheels of Nature break,
He undisturb'd would view the gen'ral Wreck,
Still safe and happy in the Thund'rer's Care.
VIII.
Now tow'rd the South the pregnant CloudsRetire and leave the middle Sky,
Discharging still prolific Floods
On Hills and Valleys, Fields and Woods,
And drop down Fatness as they fly.
The winding Curves worm through the distant Cloud,
And Sheets of Flame expand abroad;
Now shut and open, open still and shut,
And an immense Effulgence flash about.
IX.
Now safe from Harm, Presumption hearsThe distant Vengeance roar;
Pale Guilt renounces all her Fears,
And palpitates no more.
Mistaken Guilt! t' erect thy Crest,
And proudly boast the Danger past;
Behold a blacker Tempest gathering last,
The Skies with deeper Horrors overcast,
And louder Thunder roar in the last Trumpet's Blast;
Behold the Judge! He comes! He comes
In vengeful Flames and stormy Glooms!
The Clouds His Chariot, and the Winds His Wheels;
See! how before him Lightnings flash, and play!
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As down He rides from the eternal Hills.
X.
Supreme, almighty, venerable Name!Proprietor of Earth and Sea and Sky,
Commander of the Magazines of Flame,
That in the aërial Regions lie;
With Awe profound Thy Greatness I adore,
Who wings the Storm, and bids the Thunder roar,
And keeps th' unruly El'ments subject to Thy Pow'r.
| Collected poems of Samuel Davies : 1723-1761 | |