Page:Prometheus bound - Browning (1833).djvu/121

 Thou, whom all flesh shall see!—thou, who dost call, And there is none to answer!—thou, whose call Changeth all beauty into what we fear, Changeth all glory into what we tread, Genius to silence, wrath to nothingness, And love—not love!—thou hast no change for love! Thou, who art Life's betroth'd, and bear'st her forth To scare her with sad sights,—who hast thy joy Where'er the peopled towns are dumb with plague,— Where'er the battle and the vulture meet,— Where'er the deep sea writhes like Laocoon Beneath the serpent winds, and vessels split On secret rocks, and men go gurgling down, Down, dowm, to lose their shriekings in the depth! Oh universal thou! who comest aye Among the minstrels, and their tongue is tied;— Among the sophists, and their brain is still;— Among the mourners, and their wail is done;— Among the dancers, and their tinkling feet No more make echoes on the tombing earth;—