XIX. PROTEUS. 1. INTO the living elements of things I, Proteus, mingle, seeking strange disguise : I track the Sun-god on an eagle's wings, Or look at horror thro' a murderer's eyes, In shape of hornëd beast my shadow glides Among broad-leaved flowers that blow 'neath Afric tides. 2. A wind of ancient prophecy swept down, On Paris' bosom, in the Trojan town : Troy vanish'd; and I wander'd far away,Till, lying on a Virgin's breast, I gazed Thro' infant's eyes, and saw, as in a dream, The great god Pan, whom I had raised and praised, Open'd its darkness for the unking'd day: With lips that flutter'd still and seem'd to speak, An Eagle, swooping down upon his breast, Picked his blank eyeballs out with golden beak. 3. Thro' wondrous change on change Haunted for ever by a hollow tune Made ere the birth of Sun or Stars or Moon I, Proteus, range. |