Niagara, and Other Poems. Benjamin Copeland
AN IDYL OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE.
THE FONT, THE ALTAR, AND THE TOMB.
NIAGARA.
Majestic symbol of eternal power!
Dread oracle of eons all unknown!
Before thy presence Pomp and Passion cower—
All men are equal at thy awful throne.
Abashed, the eager babble of the mart—
To silence shamed, the vulgar greed for gain;
No more ambition goads the weary heart,
And Toil forgets its unrequited pain.
Stern type of Truth’s inexorable law!
No room remains for envy or for pride;
Here prince and pauper stand in common awe,
Swayed by the spell of thy resistless tide.
A rushing, seething Sinai—thou dost pour
On sluggish consciences the solemn sense
Of justice infinite:—thy thunder’s roar
Declares to Wrong relentless recompense.
Against our arrogance thy strength doth plead;
Deep unto deep imperiously calls;
Impartial annalist! the nations read
Their