 | Laurella and other poems |  |
203
PARADISE LOST.
In the woodlands wild
I was once a child,
Singing, free from care,
Wandering everywhere.
I was once a child,
Singing, free from care,
Wandering everywhere.
Angels went and came,
Like spires of blissful flame;
All among the flowers,
Fed with virgin showers,
Angels went and came,
Called me by my name.
Like spires of blissful flame;
All among the flowers,
Fed with virgin showers,
Angels went and came,
Called me by my name.
But a serpent crept
On me as I slept,
Stung me on the eyes;
Woke with sick surprise.
On me as I slept,
Stung me on the eyes;
Woke with sick surprise.
And a demon came
With a face of shame,
Spoke my sudden doom,
Naked in the gloom.
With a face of shame,
Spoke my sudden doom,
Naked in the gloom.
204
Then a dreadful sound
Pealed through heaven's profound;
All my lonesome places
Were filled with dreadful faces
Everywhere a face
Full of my disgrace.
Pealed through heaven's profound;
All my lonesome places
Were filled with dreadful faces
Everywhere a face
Full of my disgrace.
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