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263
THE SHIP OF HEAVEN.
A DREAM.
'Tis day, but sun or sky
No human eye may see;
Like a mighty shroud, the heavy air
Hangs dim and drearily!
No human eye may see;
Like a mighty shroud, the heavy air
Hangs dim and drearily!
'Tis day—yet on the rock
The falcon sits forlorn,
Awaiting, cold and restlessly,
The coming of the morn.
The falcon sits forlorn,
Awaiting, cold and restlessly,
The coming of the morn.
A ray, as of the sun,
Flashes along the deep,
And, hark! dull whispers of the blast
Through the old forest sweep.
Flashes along the deep,
And, hark! dull whispers of the blast
Through the old forest sweep.
Yet all is calm, as lull'd
By some magician's wand:
It is no sun that lights the deep—
No blast that sweeps the land!
By some magician's wand:
It is no sun that lights the deep—
No blast that sweeps the land!
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Like mountains that have been
By ancient tempests riven,
Opens in wild sublimity
The lofty arch of heaven!
By ancient tempests riven,
Opens in wild sublimity
The lofty arch of heaven!
The giant clouds dissolve
Mysteriously away,
As darkness melts to radiance
Before the power of day.
Mysteriously away,
As darkness melts to radiance
Before the power of day.
Innumerable beams
Of variegated light
Burst, from that everlasting sphere,
Upon my trancéd sight.
Of variegated light
Burst, from that everlasting sphere,
Upon my trancéd sight.
Temples of living fire,
Mild as the lunar ray—
Fountains that overflow with stars,
Shine up the open way!
Mild as the lunar ray—
Fountains that overflow with stars,
Shine up the open way!
Suddenly, from the vault,
Like lightning when storms rave,
A bow of atmospheric hues
Spans the vast heaven and wave.
Like lightning when storms rave,
A bow of atmospheric hues
Spans the vast heaven and wave.
A Ship!—a heavenly Ship!—
Her sails are clouds of snow,
Fine as the summer moon shines through,
On pleasant eves below.
Her sails are clouds of snow,
Fine as the summer moon shines through,
On pleasant eves below.
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From the miraculous cleft
She takes her beauteous flight;
And launching on the tide of air,
Speeds down the waves of light.
She takes her beauteous flight;
And launching on the tide of air,
Speeds down the waves of light.
Gushes the trumpet's breath
With organ melody;—
And, at the sound, ten thousand shapes
Spring from the groaning sea!
With organ melody;—
And, at the sound, ten thousand shapes
Spring from the groaning sea!
The sea gives up its dead—
Its brave, its honour'd dead;
Their thronging footsteps press the deck,
But soundless is their tread!
Its brave, its honour'd dead;
Their thronging footsteps press the deck,
But soundless is their tread!
The aged and wither'd brow,
The stately and the fair,
The warrior-knight and lowly hind—
The prince and slave—meet there.
The stately and the fair,
The warrior-knight and lowly hind—
The prince and slave—meet there.
They gaze on me, with eyes
That evermore dilate,
As if with the thin gelid air
Engross'd—incorporate.
That evermore dilate,
As if with the thin gelid air
Engross'd—incorporate.
Their forms glide, like star-rays
Upon a rapid stream—
Pale, shadowy, changeful—still in all
Identical they seem!
Upon a rapid stream—
Pale, shadowy, changeful—still in all
Identical they seem!
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Again the Ship of Heaven
Her wondrous path doth take;
Silently she moves o'er the sea—
Her vast stern leaves no wake!
Her wondrous path doth take;
Silently she moves o'er the sea—
Her vast stern leaves no wake!
Vain is my wish to move:
A ponderous column, bound
With demon-chains upon my breast,
Confines me to the ground.
A ponderous column, bound
With demon-chains upon my breast,
Confines me to the ground.
Vain is my hope to speak:
Language denies the power
To tell the bitter agony—
The terror of this hour!
Language denies the power
To tell the bitter agony—
The terror of this hour!
'Tis past!—back to my heart
The fever'd blood springs, now,
And the illusions of dark sleep
Fast leave my aching brow!
The fever'd blood springs, now,
And the illusions of dark sleep
Fast leave my aching brow!
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