26.12.2010, 13:25
THE LION'S SKELETON.
How long, O lion, hast thou fleshless lain ?
What rapt thy fierce and thirsty eyes away ?
First came the vulture : worms, heat, wind, and rain
Ensued, and ardors of the tropic day.
I know not—if they spared it thee—how long
The canker sate within thy monstrous mane,
Till it fell piecemeal, and bestrew'd the plain ;
Or, shredded by the storming sands, was flung
Again to earth ; but now thine ample front,
Whereon the great frowns gather'd, is laid bare ;
The thunders of thy throat, which erst were wont
To scare the desert, are no longer there ;
Thy claws remain, but worms, wind, rain, and heat
Have sifted out the substance of thy feet.
How long, O lion, hast thou fleshless lain ?
What rapt thy fierce and thirsty eyes away ?
First came the vulture : worms, heat, wind, and rain
Ensued, and ardors of the tropic day.
I know not—if they spared it thee—how long
The canker sate within thy monstrous mane,
Till it fell piecemeal, and bestrew'd the plain ;
Or, shredded by the storming sands, was flung
Again to earth ; but now thine ample front,
Whereon the great frowns gather'd, is laid bare ;
The thunders of thy throat, which erst were wont
To scare the desert, are no longer there ;
Thy claws remain, but worms, wind, rain, and heat
Have sifted out the substance of thy feet.