HOW general, Anger, is thy wild controul!
How dost thou reign in every human soul!
Yes, wayward nymph, at thy supreme command,
Man against man directs the vengeful hand,
In mighty quarrels, mighty souls engage,
And trifling causes little minds enrage.
In different minds thy ruling power appears,
And yet in each a different aspect wears.
First Character.
In some , behold it like the tempest rise,
Dart through the frame, and lighten in the eyes,
The labouring tongue a dreadful volley pours
As when the cannon in the battle roars,
Through all the nerves a boiling current flows,
Like liquid fire with which Vesuvius glows.
Second Character.
In souls more soft , but equally as proud,
Thy wayward power sits awful in a cloud,
O’er every sense a darken’d gloom is thrown,
Scornful the eye, and dull the deepen’d tone,
A heavy cloud obscures the mental light,
And mournful silence awes the dreary night.
Third Character.
And there , behold thy stately form arise,
In splendid lustre beaming from the eyes;
Bold independence swells the haughty tone,
And mighty self reigns absolute alone.
Like the balloon, when mounting to the skies,
Astonished multitudes behold it rise,
No real merit–but when fill’d with gas,
With pride it swells an independent mass.
Fourth Character.
In yonder form, tho’ weak thy power is shewn,
Those fading cheeks thy dark dominion own,
Not in a torrent there , reproaches pour,
Tho’ angry words the lips of lilies roar;
The weak, faint lustre of that fading eye
Emits a spark, which kindling, flames on high.
Poor little self is dreadfully abused!
How sadly treated! how unkindly used!
All, all , are wrong, and she alone is right,
Her faults were placed in far too strong a light.
Anger and self usurp the darken’d soul,
And reign and rule with absolute controul.
Our own misdeeds are hidden from our eyes,
While other’s faults in full perspective rise.
In Pride’s dark mirrour we ourselves survey,
While gracious truth withdraws her kindly ray.
(Mary Abel Clinckett)
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Based on Topics: Man Poems, Night Poems, Light Poems, Sadness Poems, Soul Poems, War & Peace Poems, Power Poems, Anger Poems, Pride Poems, Self Poems, Characters PoemsBased on Keywords: mirrour, emits, vesuvius, enrage