The Soul of Osiris

98 THE SOUL OF OSIRIS. In vain : I bid him kneel and swear : the earth Rocked with the terror of that deadlier birth. He swore : he vanished : the wide sky resounds With echoing thunders : through the blinding night The stars resume their courses : at the bounds Of the four watch-towers cry the waking hounds : “ The night is well ” : slow steals the ambient light Through all the borders of the universe At that last lifting of my strenuous curse. Slow steals the ambient light : white peace resumes In planet, element, and sign, her sway. The twisted ether shapes itself : relumes The benediction all the faded fumes With holier incense : in the fervid way All nature rests : with holy calm I blend Blessing and prayer at the appointed end.