Upon the hot and burning stars, As on the glowing coals and bars That were to prove her strength, and try Thus moving on, with silent pace, And suddenly from his outstretched arm Down fell the red skin of the lion Into the river at his feet. His mighty club no longer beat The forehead of the bull; but he Reeled as of yore beside the sea, When, blinded by Enopion, He sought the blacksmith at his forge, And, climbing up the mountain gorge, Fixed his blank eyes upon the sun. Then, through the silence overh An angel with a trumpet said, "Forevermore, forevermore, The reign of violence is o'er!" And, like an instrument that fling Its music on another's strings, The trumpet of the angel cast Upon the heavenly lyre its blast, And on from sphere to sphere the Reechoed down the burning chord "Forevermore, forevermore, The reign of violence is o'er!" THE BRIDGE. I STOOD On the bridge at midnight, And the moon rose o'er the city, Behind the dark church-tower. I saw her bright reflection In the waters under me, Like a golden goblet falling And far in the hazy distance Of that lovely night in Jun The blaze of the flaming furn Gleamed redder than the n Among the long, black rafters The wavering shadows lay, And the current that came fro Seemed to lift and bear ther As, sweeping and eddying thro Rose the belated tide, And, streaming into the moonli The seaweed floated wide. And like those waters rushing Among the wooden piers, A flood of thoughts came o'er m That filled my eyes with tears. How often, O, how often, In the days that had gone by, I had stood on that bridge at midnight And gazed on that wave and sky! How often, O, how often, I had wished that the ebbing tide Would bear me away on its bosom O'er the ocean wild and wide! For my heart was hot and restless, And the burden laid upon me Seemed greater than I could bear. But now it has fallen from me, It is buried in the sea; And only the sorrow of others Throws its shadow over me. |