Cumean Sibyl! from thy sultry cave Thy dark eyes level with the sulphurous ground Through the gloom flashing, roll in wrath around. What see they? Coasts perpetual earthquakes pave With ruin; piles half buried in the wave; Wrecks of old times and new in lava drowned; - And festive crowds, sin-steeped ami myrtle-crowned. Like idiots dancing on a parent's grave. And they foresee. Those pallid lips with pain Suppress their thrilling whispers. Sibyl, spare! Could Wisdom's voice divide yon sea, or rear A new Vesuvius from its flaming plane, Futile the warning! Power despised! forbear To deepen guilt by counsel breathed in vain! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MORTAL COMBAT by MARY ELIZABETH COLERIDGE ENCOURAGED by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR TALES OF A WAYSIDE INN: THE FIRST DAY: THE LEGEND OF RABBI BEN LEVY by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW THE PAST IS THE PRESENT by MARIANNE MOORE A CHRISTMAS FOLK-SONG by LIZETTE WOODWORTH REESE NATALITIUM: MARTIJ 13, 1645 by JOSEPH BEAUMONT SATURDAY IN Y' HOLY WEEK by JOSEPH BEAUMONT |