 | Poems by James Rhoades |  |
126
XII.
[Death, and the pour'd-out fury of driven seas]
Death, and the pour'd-out fury of driven seas,Or a blind multitude madden'd by despair,
Or winds that drag down forests by the hair,
Until they howl for agony—before these
Frail perishable flesh must quake and cower:
Thus far with trembling knees
We bow before great Nature's energies,
Worshipping the resistlessness of Power.
Thus far indeed, wild mob and seas and wind,
Avails ungovernable Fury blind—
Yet deem not this the highest! as if man's soul
Would stoop to tremble for her storm and shaking!—
Man, that has learnt, all meaner force forsaking,
The sublime strength that can itself control.
| Poems by James Rhoades | |