I DREAMED, and saw a modern Hell, more dread
Than Dante’s pageant; not with gloom and glare,
But all new forms of madness and despair
Filled it with complex tortures, some Earth-bred,
Some born in Hell: eternally full-fed
Ghosts of all foul disease-germs thronged the air:
And as with trembling feet I entered there,
A Demon barred the way, and mocking said–
“Through our dim vales and gulfs thou need’st not rove;
From thine own Earth and from its happiest lot
Thy lust for pain may draw full nourishment,
With poignant spice of passion; knowest thou not
Fiends wed for hate as mortals wed for love,
Yet find not much more anguish? Be content.”
(Constance Naden)
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Based on Topics: Love Poems, Sadness Poems, Pain Poems, Hell Poems, Madness Poems, Passion PoemsBased on Keywords: full-fed, earth-bred