What Is Life?
RY CHARLES D. DARKE
.
An eagle flew up in his heavenward flight,
Far out of the reach of human sight,
And gazed on the earth from his lordly height
In the clouds of the upper air:
" And this is life, " he exultingly screams,
" To soar without fear where the lightning gleams,
And look unblenched on the sun's gorgeous beams,
And know no harrowing care. "
A lion sprang forth from his bloody bed,
And roared till it seemed he would wake the dead;
And man and beast from him trembling fled,
As though there were death in the tone:
" And this is life, " he triumphantly cried,
" To hold my domain in the forest wide,
Imprisoned by nought but the ocean's tide,
And the ice of the frozen zone. "
" It is life, " said a whale, " to swim in the deep;
O'er hills submerged and abysses to sweep,
Where the gods of ocean their vigils keep
In the fathomless gulfs below;
To bask on the bosom of tropical seas,
And inhale the fragrance of Ceylon's breeze;
Or sport where the turbulent waters freeze,
In the climes of eternal snow. "
" It is life, " says a tireless albatross,
" To skim through the air, when the black waves toss
In the storm that has swept the earth across,
And never to wish for rest;
To sleep on the breeze as it softly flies,
My perch in the air, my shelter the skies,
And to build my nest on the billows that rise
And break with a beautiful crest. "
" It is life, " said a wild gazelle, " to leap
From crag to crag of the mountain steep,
Where the cloud's icy tears in purity sleep,
Like the marble brow of death;
To stand, unmoved, on the outermost verge
Of the perilous height, and hear the surge
Of the waters beneath, that onward urge,
As if sent by a demon's breath. "
" It is life, " I hear a butterfly say,
" To revel in blooming gardens by day,
And nestle in caps of flowerets gay,
When the stars the heavens illume;
To steal from the rose its delicate hue,
To sip from the hyacinth glittering dew,
And catch from beds of the violet blue
The richest and sweetest perfume. "
" It is life, " a majestic war-horse neighed,
" To prance in the glare of battle and blade,
Where thousands in terrible death are laid,
And scent of the streaming gore:
To rush unappall'd through the fiery heat,
And trample the dead beneath my feet,
To the trumpet's clang, and the drum's loud beat,
And hear the artillery roar. "
" It is life, " said a savage, with hideous yell,
" To roam unshackled the mountain and dell,
And feel my bosom with majesty swell,
As the primal monarch of all;
To gaze on the earth, the sky, and the sea,
And feel, that, like them, I am chainless and free,
And never, while breathing, to bend the knee,
But at the Manitou's call. "
An aged christian went tottering by,
And white was his hair, and dim was his eye,
And his broken spirit seemed ready to fly,
As he said, with faltering breath:
" It is life, to move from the heart's first throes,
Through youth and manhood, to age's snows,
In a ceaseless circle of joys and woes: —
It is life, to prepare for death. "
.
An eagle flew up in his heavenward flight,
Far out of the reach of human sight,
And gazed on the earth from his lordly height
In the clouds of the upper air:
" And this is life, " he exultingly screams,
" To soar without fear where the lightning gleams,
And look unblenched on the sun's gorgeous beams,
And know no harrowing care. "
A lion sprang forth from his bloody bed,
And roared till it seemed he would wake the dead;
And man and beast from him trembling fled,
As though there were death in the tone:
" And this is life, " he triumphantly cried,
" To hold my domain in the forest wide,
Imprisoned by nought but the ocean's tide,
And the ice of the frozen zone. "
" It is life, " said a whale, " to swim in the deep;
O'er hills submerged and abysses to sweep,
Where the gods of ocean their vigils keep
In the fathomless gulfs below;
To bask on the bosom of tropical seas,
And inhale the fragrance of Ceylon's breeze;
Or sport where the turbulent waters freeze,
In the climes of eternal snow. "
" It is life, " says a tireless albatross,
" To skim through the air, when the black waves toss
In the storm that has swept the earth across,
And never to wish for rest;
To sleep on the breeze as it softly flies,
My perch in the air, my shelter the skies,
And to build my nest on the billows that rise
And break with a beautiful crest. "
" It is life, " said a wild gazelle, " to leap
From crag to crag of the mountain steep,
Where the cloud's icy tears in purity sleep,
Like the marble brow of death;
To stand, unmoved, on the outermost verge
Of the perilous height, and hear the surge
Of the waters beneath, that onward urge,
As if sent by a demon's breath. "
" It is life, " I hear a butterfly say,
" To revel in blooming gardens by day,
And nestle in caps of flowerets gay,
When the stars the heavens illume;
To steal from the rose its delicate hue,
To sip from the hyacinth glittering dew,
And catch from beds of the violet blue
The richest and sweetest perfume. "
" It is life, " a majestic war-horse neighed,
" To prance in the glare of battle and blade,
Where thousands in terrible death are laid,
And scent of the streaming gore:
To rush unappall'd through the fiery heat,
And trample the dead beneath my feet,
To the trumpet's clang, and the drum's loud beat,
And hear the artillery roar. "
" It is life, " said a savage, with hideous yell,
" To roam unshackled the mountain and dell,
And feel my bosom with majesty swell,
As the primal monarch of all;
To gaze on the earth, the sky, and the sea,
And feel, that, like them, I am chainless and free,
And never, while breathing, to bend the knee,
But at the Manitou's call. "
An aged christian went tottering by,
And white was his hair, and dim was his eye,
And his broken spirit seemed ready to fly,
As he said, with faltering breath:
" It is life, to move from the heart's first throes,
Through youth and manhood, to age's snows,
In a ceaseless circle of joys and woes: —
It is life, to prepare for death. "
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