The Stolen Sunbeam.
Ah! more than terrible was the shock
Where the burning splinters struck wave and rock;
The green earth shuddered, and shrank, and paled,
The wave sprang up and the mountain quailed.
Look on the hills—let the scars they bear
Measure the pain of that hour's despair.
Where the burning splinters struck wave and rock;
The green earth shuddered, and shrank, and paled,
The wave sprang up and the mountain quailed.
Look on the hills—let the scars they bear
Measure the pain of that hour's despair.
The Fallen watched while the whirlwind fanned
The pulsing splinters that ploughed the sand;
Sullen he watched, while the hissing waves
Bore them away to the ocean caves;
Sullen he watched while the shining rills
Throbbed through the hearts of the rocky hills;
Loudly he laughed:"Is the world not mine?
"Proudly the links of its chain shall shine;
"Lighted with gems shall its dungeons be;
"But the pride of its beauty shall kneel to me!"
That splintered light in the earth grew cold,
And the diction of mortals hath called it "gold."
The pulsing splinters that ploughed the sand;
Sullen he watched, while the hissing waves
Bore them away to the ocean caves;
Sullen he watched while the shining rills
Throbbed through the hearts of the rocky hills;
Loudly he laughed:"Is the world not mine?
"Proudly the links of its chain shall shine;
"Lighted with gems shall its dungeons be;
"But the pride of its beauty shall kneel to me!"
That splintered light in the earth grew cold,
And the diction of mortals hath called it "gold."
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