America a Prophecy

The shadowy daughter of Urthona stood before red Orc. When fourteen suns had faintly journey’d o’er his dark abode: His food she brought in iron baskets, his drink in cups of iron: Crown’d with a helmet & dark hair the nameless female stood: A quiver with its burning stores, a bow like that of night, When pestilence is shot from heaven: no other arms she need: Invulnerable tho’ naked, save where clouds roll round her loins, Their awful folds in the dark air: silent she stood as night: For never from her iron tongue could voice or sound arise: But dumb till that dread day when Orc assay’d his fierce embrace.

Dark virgin: said the hairy youth, thy father stern abhorr’d: Rivets my tenfold chains while still on high my spirit soars: Sometimes an eagle screaming in the sky, sometimes a lion, Stalking upon the mountains, & sometimes a whale I lash The raging fathomless abyss, anon a serpent folding Around the pillars of Urthona, and round thy dark limbs, On the Canadian wilds I fold, feeble my spirit folds. For chaind beneath I rend these caverns: when thou bringest food I howl my joy! and my red eyes seek to behold thy face In vain! these clouds roll to & fro, & hide thee from my sight.