Crisp lightning flashed; a wave of thunder shook
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scarce dared trust my ears or eyes for aweOf what they heard, and dread of what they saw;For, privileged beyond degree, this fleshBeheld God and His heaven in the meshOf Lucifer’s revolt, saw LuciferGlow like the sun, and like a dulcimerI heard his sin-sweet voice break on the yellOf God’s great warriors: Gabriel,Saint Clair and Michael, Israfel and Raphael.And strange it was to see God with His backAgainst a wall, to see Christ hew and hackTill Lucifer, pressed by the mighty pair,And losing inch by inch, clawed at the airWith fevered wings; then, lost beyond repair,He tricked a mass of stars into his hair;He filled his hands with stars, crying as he fell,“A star’s a star although it burns in hell.”So God was left to His divinity,Omnipotent at that most costly fee. There was a lesson here, but still the clodIn me was sycophant unto the rod,And cried, “Why mock me thus? Am I a god?” “_One trial more: this failing, then I giveYou leave to die; no further need to live._” Now suddenly a strange wild music smoteA chord long impotent in me; a noteOf jungles, primitive and subtle, throbbedAgainst my echoing breast, and tom-toms sobbedIn every pulse-beat of my frame. The dinA hollow log bound with a python’s skinCan make wrought every nerve to ecstasy,And I was wind and sky again, and sea,And all sweet things that flourish, being free.
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