One sovereign holds indisputable sway!
Her lightest caprice all creatures obey,
From the least to the greatest, thro' fear or respect
Bow low to her mandate--no matter what sect.
Whatever the foibles they fly at their mast--
The wonders of Nature--men worship at last;
And her insect creation elicits more praise
Than the garments she dons on festival days. Some industrial way, each teaches in turn--
Their usefulness puzzles grey matter to learn;
Apparent to me--'twas unpardonable freak
Or spite work of Nature when sylvas were bleak:
Were a vast, howling wilderness--left destitute
Where naught but the thistle survived with the brute;
When convulsions of Aer moved mountains in haste
Leaving earth but a noisome, and gaseous waste. Did the great dinosaur and mammoth then roam?
Shaken out of their haunts, no shelter! No home!
With primeval man doomed to lay down their bones!
In caves far away, or the stretch of the zones.
Ah! Canst thou remember the frown that o'erspread
The face of fair Nature!--her favorites dead;
Saw those forests laid low! Her fauna and flowers--
Came to garland the Spring in her happiest hours. How she wept and bewailed till th' Spirit abroad
O'er the waters that reigned--brought message from God;
Awake! Mother Nature! My energies all
Are now at thy service, awaiting thy call,
Let the waves and the plasm their portion begin
And you shall evolve a line without sin;
As free as the air--intervening Above
Sulphurous fumes hide the Anchor of Love. A new generation, unfolding their wings
May destruction escape of terrestrial things.
Dost know thy carnivora preying on Man
Too aggressive made him to live out his span?
With kinds are more gentle, domestic to grow--
Given fruits that are cooling, like rivers to flow
Shall thy fountains of Life be cleansed for a "hope"!
With humanity born of sweet Penelope. Seemeth distant the day--prodigious the task!--
What ample resources are thine, if ye ask.
Wan still, was her smile! Till a rift in the clouds
Showed her germs had been spared, would furnish the crowds
Of beings she needed, to demonstrate worth
In the promise providing wings at their birth.
Only half reassured!--Nature gave but a tithe
Of her atoms possessed to larvae that writhe. But her "will and idea" were bent on their flight;
What a marvelous Age now dawned on her sight!
This principle working proved more of her skill
And efforts continued, would th' universe fill.
Soon the Soul of the World was stirred with the thought
Of the order much nobler the Comforter taught;
After beautiful birds should follow the trend--
Ushered butterflies, bats, and beasts without end: All wearing appendage to soar in the Sky,
More thankful--aspiring to Heaven on high.
Did Nature regret that experiment west--
Loosed a parasite swarm to torture the rest;
Fledged an army of insects to nip in the bud
For the sole satisfaction of sucking our blood?
Yes! Harvest and Summer revealed at its close
Her fatal mistake when those vapors arose. Repentant she sighs through the late autumn gale
Where barren and fruitless her trees tell the tale;
Knew construction her forte but wot not of this--
Nor designed them to spoil her Eden of bliss.
Perpetuity lent, looks up in dismay
For a possible "change" may mark their decay;
Was that tremor a chill for wish unexpressed--
That the rigors of Winter would wipe out the pest? "Confidentially told" by those on the way--
No intelligence lost where Nature has sway;
That immortal her seal--they also insist
Was affixed from that Day on all would exist.
So sadly she mourned that her petulant mood
Brought a sorrowful train of evil with Good,
That atonement she sought, and found that the prize
Was not offered to mortal, though winged it dies. On the Borderland stopped shades hover a while
To dispel in the mists that rise from the Isle!
Ne'er animal form can inherit Beyond--
With power to inflict those have broken th' bond;
Their season of torment is now and the here
Where visible vengeance has numbered the year.
Hail! Deliverance comes when th' ego expands--
Spreading Wings of the soul joins the Angel bands. * * * Suppose 'twas a ruse--not Nature's mistake!
Was Wisdom of Mind, not a mythical fake;
To make discontented the creature so loth
To study with profit queen bee and the moth.
For the drones there's no use in the earthly hive!
This lesson observed, shall communities thrive?
Here's example and principle worthy of note
For you! Lost no time interviewing the mote.