Forth flashed the serpent streak of steel,
Consummate crown of man’s device;
Down crashed upon an immobile
And brainless barrier of ice.
Courage!
The grey gods shoot a laughing lip: –
Let not faith founder with the ship!
We reel before the blows of fate;
Our stout souls stagger at the shock.
Oh! there is Something ultimate
Fixed faster than the living rock.
Courage!
Catastrophe beyond belief
Harden our hearts to fear and grief!
The gods upon the Titans shower
Their high intolerable scorn;
But no god knoweth in what hour
A new Prometheus may be born.
Courage!
Man to his doom goes driving down;
A crown of thorns is still a crown!
No power of nature shall withstand
At last the spirit of mankind:
It is not built upon the sand;
It is not wastrel to the wind.
Courage!
Disaster and destruction tend
To taller triumph in the end.
(Aleister Crowley)
More Poetry from Aleister Crowley:
Aleister Crowley Poems based on Topics: God, Man, Nature, Fate & Destiny, Mankind, Courage, Grief- Leah Sublime (Aleister Crowley Poems)
- The Wild Ass (Aleister Crowley Poems)
- Ut (Aleister Crowley Poems)
- The Tent (Aleister Crowley Poem)
- The Twins (Aleister Crowley Poem)
- The Wizard Way (Aleister Crowley Poem)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Man Poems, God Poems, Nature Poems, Fate & Destiny Poems, Grief Poems, Courage Poems, Mankind PoemsBased on Keywords: shock, shower, souls, triumph, serpent, faith, faster, driving, thorns, shoot, tend
- Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift, D.S.P.D. (Jonathan Swift Poems)
- Vision Of Columbus - Book 7 (Joel Barlow Poems)
- By The Seaside : The Building Of The Ship (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Poems)
- The Turtle And Sparrow. An Elegiac Tale (Matthew Prior Poems)
- The Bas Bleu: Or, Conversation. Addressed To Mrs. Vesey (Hannah More Poems)