Satan Chained
Poem by scientist Nathaniel Dunn. Second edition, 1876.
“Th’ assembly o’er, the proud unlifted god,
With self-complacent smile, retires from out
The throng: is soon prepared, and on the wing
For earth; with fiery speed and keenest scent
Of blood; of infant blood. It nerved his flight,
And urged him on. O mother, clasp your child!
Its time is short. A bird of omen dread
Is on the wing; a vulture from the deep.
He snuffs its life, and swift and swifter speeds
His direful way. In Rama shall a voice
Be heard; and tears shall flow, and hearts shall bleed,
And Rachel shall refuse relief. Her babes
Are not. He voyaged now as Satan had before;
With dire intent, and fierce impetuous wing.
The track, the same; the space, the same; the deep,
The same; the awful deep above and deep
Below; where stillness reigns, far out from all
The works of God, save roar and dismal howl
Of storms and doleful winds, that ever and
Anon arise, and sweep in tempest high,
Or direst hurricanes,--through all that waste,
That barren waste; and frighten Silence with
A ghastly fear. For, Silence there holds sway;
One hand uplift to hush; the other on
Her lips forever sealed....”
With self-complacent smile, retires from out
The throng: is soon prepared, and on the wing
For earth; with fiery speed and keenest scent
Of blood; of infant blood. It nerved his flight,
And urged him on. O mother, clasp your child!
Its time is short. A bird of omen dread
Is on the wing; a vulture from the deep.
He snuffs its life, and swift and swifter speeds
His direful way. In Rama shall a voice
Be heard; and tears shall flow, and hearts shall bleed,
And Rachel shall refuse relief. Her babes
Are not. He voyaged now as Satan had before;
With dire intent, and fierce impetuous wing.
The track, the same; the space, the same; the deep,
The same; the awful deep above and deep
Below; where stillness reigns, far out from all
The works of God, save roar and dismal howl
Of storms and doleful winds, that ever and
Anon arise, and sweep in tempest high,
Or direst hurricanes,--through all that waste,
That barren waste; and frighten Silence with
A ghastly fear. For, Silence there holds sway;
One hand uplift to hush; the other on
Her lips forever sealed....”