Page:Betelguese, a trip through hell.djvu/78

70 Raps skulls from which a venom pours,

And shakes his fists where opals burn,

Whence figgum that his hands control

Is charged with life; and on the sand

Two witches sate their thirst in gores,

Flit Fancy's wings unto a urn,

(Within whose tomb there writhes a soul)

And with Courage that Dawn hath bred

In rivers, to whispers of the night,

As wracks are dyed a crimson red,

Feasts upon Doom's abhorrent shape,

That fires bright, toss to each bed,

And flees to realms where shadows light;

Whilst Thought, in horror of the dead,

Wings in mourning veils, dark as crepe,

And feasts on afterglow of Trust,

On cauldrons tossed to crafty Death

That froths dank pomp and guidons bright,

Unto a height, where falt'ring eyes.

Betrayed by crystals numb in dust,

Gasps at the sight with startled breath