the torrent.
11
Dragons, alas! still darken the green earth,
War with the good, the beautiful, the wise;
From gulfs of ancient night they've issued forth,
And with their shadowy wings blot out the skies;
Old creeds that gasp forth curses, tyrannies
All foul with feeding on their own decay,
Old cramping forms, and crippling social lies,
Whose venomous breathings with corruption slay,
Like loathsome rattlesnakes that glut upon their prey.
War with the good, the beautiful, the wise;
From gulfs of ancient night they've issued forth,
And with their shadowy wings blot out the skies;
Old creeds that gasp forth curses, tyrannies
All foul with feeding on their own decay,
Old cramping forms, and crippling social lies,
Whose venomous breathings with corruption slay,
Like loathsome rattlesnakes that glut upon their prey.
But thou assail'st them, fearless, though they spurt
Their reeking poison in thy smarting face;
And careless of thy bruises and thy hurt,
Thou still press'st on with an undaunted pace;
A bold path-finder for the coming race,
And in thy faith, strong as the morning star,
Piercing the welt'ring clouds with lucent rays;
Thy voice, a light above time's din and war,
Proclaimeth to mankind the rosy dawn afar!
Their reeking poison in thy smarting face;
And careless of thy bruises and thy hurt,
Thou still press'st on with an undaunted pace;
A bold path-finder for the coming race,
And in thy faith, strong as the morning star,
Piercing the welt'ring clouds with lucent rays;
Thy voice, a light above time's din and war,
Proclaimeth to mankind the rosy dawn afar!
