Madmoments: or First Verseattempts By a Bornnatural. Addressed to the Lightheaded of Society at Large, by Henry Ellison |
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 | Madmoments: or First Verseattempts |  |
WESTMINSTERABBEY.
1.
How small a space suffices for the pride,Whose Giantgrasp embraced all Earth and Sky
In its bold aspirations — here they lie,
The grand results of ages; side by side,
The mighty ones of yore in peace reside,
Severed in life by many a Century;
As if, when these, her chosen spirits die,
Nature reposed exhausted — here a bide
The Eartho'ershadowing names, whose glory spread,
Like a widebranching tree, from East to West,
Neath which the nations sat! the mighty dead,
Whose names evoke the Past; at whose behest
The veil of ages is withdrawn! we tread
As in another world, and fear to break its rest!
2.
The Echoes of our footsteps strike the ear,Like Mystic Voices from the Past, and sweep
As towards Eternity untill they sleep
'Mid the tall Roof's far Depths; for here
The Present is not; Past and Future bear
Our thoughts from all that speaks of Earth; we leap
The life to come — Cross at one step the deep,
Wide Gulf, which separates our narrow sphere
From that enlarged Existence, as if we
Were mingled with the mighty whole, whereto
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Absorbed as raindrops by the ocean! So
Amid this thoughtrich pile that speaks of thee,
Almighty God! Ages, like passing Shadows, show!
| Madmoments: or First Verseattempts | |