The Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Scott Co., Iowa) 1841-185?, 1848-05-11
From the Cincinnati Commercial
TIE SONG or LIGHTNING.
By O. ". CCTIEa.


That which is most within me-conld wreak
Wy thoughts upon expression, aud thus throw
soul, heart, mind passions, feelings, strong ol
MI that would have sought, and all seek,
lear, know, feel, and vet breathe into one word
Md that one word were lightning, would speaa
BYRON.
Away, AWAY through the sgh,ess air
Stretch forth your iron thread,
For I would no, dim my sandals fair,
With the dust We tnmely tread;
Az, rear il up on its million piers
Let il reach tho world around,
And the journey sc make in a hundred years
I'll clcar ut single bound.
Tho cannot toll like the grooming slave
Yc have fct,ered with iron skill,
To ferry Won over the boundless wave,
Or grind in the noisy mill;
Let him sing his gian, strength and speed:
Why, single shaft Of mine
Would give that monster flight indeed,
TO the depths Of the oceans brine.
No! no! I'm tho spir, of ligh, and love,
To my unseen hand tits given
To pencil the ambient clouds above,
And polish the stars OF heaven.
scatter the golden rays of lire
On the horizon far below
And deck the sky where storms expire,
With my red and dazzling glow.
The decpes, recesses of earth are mino-
traverse its silent core;
Around me the starry diamonds shine,
And the sparkling fields Of ore:
And Oft leap from my throne on high,
To tho depths o! the oceans caves,
Where the fndcless forests Of coral lie,
lar under the world Of waves.
MY being is like lovely thought
That dwells in a shless breast:
4 tone Of music that nc'er was caught
A word that was meier expressed.
dwell in the bright and Furnished halls,
WI, re- tho fountains Of sunlight play
Where the curtain OF gold and opal tails
o'er the scenes Of the dying day.
With glance clcnve tho SKY i'll twain,
light II with glare,
When fall the boiling drops Of rain,
Through tho darkly cnrtaincd mir:
The rock built towers, the ,urreis grey,
The piles Of thousand years,
Have no, the strength OF pos;er's c.ny,
Before my glis,cring spears.
From the Alps 10 the Andes highest crag,
From the peaks ol eternal SNOW,
The dazzling folds of my fiery flag,
Clean DER the world bclow
The earthquake heralas my coming power,
The avalanche bounds away.
And the bowling storms, nj midnight hour,
Proclaim my kingly sway.
yc tremblc when my lcgions come
When my quivcring sword lea out
Der tho hills tina, echo my thnnder-drum,
And rend, with my Joyous shout;
Ye quail on tho land or upon the scas,
Yc stand in your fear nghast,
To SEQ me burn the s,alwart trees,
Or shivcr the stately mast.
The hicroglyphs on the Persian wall,
The letters Of high command,
Where tho prophet read the tyrani's fall,
Were traced with my burning hand;
And of in fire have wrote since then,
What angry heaven dccrecd-
But the scaled eyes Of sinful men
Were all too blind to read.
Al last the hour Of light is here,
And kings no more shall blind,
Nor the bigo,s crush with craven fear
The forward march Of mnd
The words Of truth, and freedoms rays,
Arc from my pinions hurl'd,
And soon the sun Of better DAYS
Shall rise upon the world.
But away, away, through the sighIiess nr-
Stretch forth your iron thread
T.r would not soil my sandals fair,
With the dust ye tamely tread;
Az, rear it up on lis million piers
Let il circle the world around,
And the journey ye make in hundred years
Ill clear ut u single bound.