 | The Poems of A. C. Benson |  |
133
BY THE GLACIER
Crawl on, old ice-worm, from the solemn hills;
Press deep thy burrowing snout among the stones,
Mutter and murmur with thy turbid rills,
And crush the old Earth's bones;
Press deep thy burrowing snout among the stones,
Mutter and murmur with thy turbid rills,
And crush the old Earth's bones;
Gnaw, grind the patient cliffs with ravenous teeth,
The crumbling crag shall feed thy snaky spine,
The dim unfathomed caverns gape beneath,
Azure and crystalline.
The crumbling crag shall feed thy snaky spine,
The dim unfathomed caverns gape beneath,
Azure and crystalline.
From those high fields with dazzling whiteness piled,
From crests too lofty for the eagle's wing,
By icy precipices undefiled,
Thou creepest, wondrous thing.
From crests too lofty for the eagle's wing,
By icy precipices undefiled,
Thou creepest, wondrous thing.
We fear thee not, old monster; see, we go
In pleasing awe to trace thy writhings vast;
Soft laughter rings above thy crusted snow,
Light footsteps hurry past.
In pleasing awe to trace thy writhings vast;
Soft laughter rings above thy crusted snow,
Light footsteps hurry past.
134
Haste thee, for thou art destined to decay,
High in the valley thy old scars are set;
Dost thou take thought of thy diminished sway?
What, art thou tyrannous yet?
High in the valley thy old scars are set;
Dost thou take thought of thy diminished sway?
What, art thou tyrannous yet?
The high peaks crumble, topple to their fall,
The torrent whirls the boulder to the vale,
A thousand voices to surrender call;—
And thou shalt not prevail.
The torrent whirls the boulder to the vale,
A thousand voices to surrender call;—
And thou shalt not prevail.
Light fairy hands, the noontide and the rain,
Deface yon bristling horrors, one by one.
Daily they pass to feed the fertile plain,
And drink the steady sun.
Deface yon bristling horrors, one by one.
Daily they pass to feed the fertile plain,
And drink the steady sun.
| The Poems of A. C. Benson | |