And the slaves’ teeth as God made them,
Then hide from the summoning tribunal,
Pharaoh will speak; and I'll seize that word to
act.
Should the word be a foe's I can use it well
As a poison to soak into Egypt's bowels;
A wraith from old Nile will cry
"For his mercy they break his back"
And I shall have a great following for this,
The rude, touched heart of the mauled, sweaty
horde,
Their rough tongues fawn at my hands, their red-
streaked eyes
Glitter with sacrifice. Well ! Pharaoh bids me
act....
Hah! I’m all a-bristle.... Lord, his eyes
would go wide
If he knew the road my rampant dreams would
race!
I am too much awake now—restless, so restless.
Behind white mists invisibly
My thoughts stood like a mountain;
But Power, watching as a man,
Saw no mountain there—
Only the mixing mist and sky
And the flat earth.