 | The Poems of A. C. Benson |  |
215
THE ROCKET
Out of his lair with a thunder-peal,—
Swiftly the fire-wheels roar and reel—
Spurning the earth with a hissing heel,
Over the din he strides;
Scatters his gold on the hungry air,
Free as a comet with trailing hair;
Over the steeple with lustre rare
Lonely and loud he rides.
Swiftly the fire-wheels roar and reel—
Spurning the earth with a hissing heel,
Over the din he strides;
Scatters his gold on the hungry air,
Free as a comet with trailing hair;
Over the steeple with lustre rare
Lonely and loud he rides.
Then, as he soars to the height profound,
Softly breaks with a muffled sound,
Parts, and lavishly strews around
Largess of rainbow dyes,
Lighting the smoky rolling shroud;
White and wan are the gazing crowd;
Then from the silence, large and loud,
Shiver their happy cries.
Softly breaks with a muffled sound,
Parts, and lavishly strews around
Largess of rainbow dyes,
Lighting the smoky rolling shroud;
White and wan are the gazing crowd;
Then from the silence, large and loud,
Shiver their happy cries.
May not one of the airy sprites,
Weary of passion and hot delights,
Shine and soar through the starry nights?
Royally, swiftly, rise?
Must he falter in mid-career?
May he not gather his strength and steer
On for ever, a shining sphere
Into the gracious skies?
Weary of passion and hot delights,
Shine and soar through the starry nights?
Royally, swiftly, rise?
216
May he not gather his strength and steer
On for ever, a shining sphere
Into the gracious skies?
Nay, the heroic beneficent soul
Hears the insolent murmurs roll,
Soars aloft to an airy goal,
Shedding his vital gleam;
Glad if another may spurn the sod,
Hears in the stillness, alone with God,
Only the plunge of the calcined rod
Short and sharp in the stream.
Hears the insolent murmurs roll,
Soars aloft to an airy goal,
Shedding his vital gleam;
Glad if another may spurn the sod,
Hears in the stillness, alone with God,
Only the plunge of the calcined rod
Short and sharp in the stream.
| The Poems of A. C. Benson | |