VI
Thus shall men write upon our cenotaphs:
"Traitor and lecher! murderess and whore!"
The rat-faced god that lurks in heaven laughs;
There is rejoicing on the immortal shore.
The angels deem us hurled from the above,
Burnt out of bliss, blasted from sense and thought,
Barred from the beauties of celestial love
And branded with the annihilating Naught.
O! pallid triumph! empty victory!
When we sit smiling on the infernal thrones
Starred with our utmost gems of infamy,
Builded with tears, and cushioned with the groans
Of these the victims of our joys immense—
Child! I aspire to that bad eminence!
"Traitor and lecher! murderess and whore!"
The rat-faced god that lurks in heaven laughs;
There is rejoicing on the immortal shore.
The angels deem us hurled from the above,
Burnt out of bliss, blasted from sense and thought,
Barred from the beauties of celestial love
And branded with the annihilating Naught.
O! pallid triumph! empty victory!
When we sit smiling on the infernal thrones
Starred with our utmost gems of infamy,
Builded with tears, and cushioned with the groans
Of these the victims of our joys immense—
Child! I aspire to that bad eminence!
— 8 —
