The Winged Beetle

118 THE LADDER Let loose—new laws, new beings, new conditions :— Dire chaos ; see ! these new-fledged wings Fail in its vaguenesses and inanitions. Only my circle saves me from the hate Of all these monsters dead yet animate. I match, &c YESOD Hail, thou full moon, O flame of Amethyst ! Stupendous mountain on whose shoulders rest The Eight Above. More stable is my crest Than thine—and now I pierce thee, veil of mist ! Even as an arrow from the war-bow springs I leap—my life is set with loftier things. I match, &c. SAMECH (and the crossing of the Path of Pe) Now swift, thou azure shaft of fading fire, Pierce through the rainbow ! Swift, O swift ! how streams The world by ! Let Sandalphon and his quire Of Angels ward me ! Ho ! what planet beams This angry ray ? Thy swords, thy shields, thy spears ! Of meteors war and blaze ; but I am I, Horus himself, the torrent of the sky Aflame—I sweep the stormy seas of air Towards that great globe that hangs so golden fair. I match, &c.