Читать книгу Niagara, and Other Poems - Benjamin Copeland - Страница 3

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Majestic symbol of eternal power!

Dread oracle of eons all unknown!

Before thy presence Pomp and Passion cower—

All men are equal at thy awful throne.

Abashed, the eager babble of the mart—

To silence shamed, the vulgar greed for gain;

No more ambition goads the weary heart,

And Toil forgets its unrequited pain.

Stern type of Truth’s inexorable law!

No room remains for envy or for pride;

Here prince and pauper stand in common awe,

Swayed by the spell of thy resistless tide.

A rushing, seething Sinai—thou dost pour

On sluggish consciences the solemn sense

Of justice infinite:—thy thunder’s roar

Declares to Wrong relentless recompense.

Against our arrogance thy strength doth plead;

Deep unto deep imperiously calls;

Impartial annalist! the nations read

Their transient glory on thy ageless walls.

Yet dost thou deign to dower the moment’s need—

Our dreams exceeding by thy bounteous sway;

With power unrivaled thy proud flood shall speed

The New World’s progress toward Time’s perfect day.

O mighty monitor! O seer sublime!

The soul’s surpassing grandeur thou dost show;—

The fountains of thy immemorial prime

Through man’s immortal being freely flow.