A VISION OF LIFE AND DEATH.
105
And what didst thou say, O my soul,
Unto that mystic dame?
'I ask'd her of her tears, and eke
I ask'd her of her name.
'She said, she built a prince's throne;
She said, he ruled the grave;
And that the levelling worm ask'd not
If he were king or slave.
'She said, she form'd a godlike tongue,
Which lofty thoughts unsheathed;
Which roll'd its thunder round, and purged
The air the nations breathed.
'She said, that tongue, all eloquent,
With silent dust did mate;
Whereon false friends betray'd long faith,
And foes outspat their hate.
