100 THE GROWTH OF GOD
Thus, till the monster-birth of serpent-man
Linked in corruption with the serpent-woman,
Slavering in lust and pain—creation’s ban.
The horrible beginning of the human.
The savage monkey leaping on his mate;
The upright posture for sure murder taken ;
The gibberings modified to spit out hate.
Struggle to manhood—surely God-forsaken.
The bestial cause of Morals—fear and hate.
At last the anguish-vomit of despair,
The growth of reason—and its pangs abate
No whit: the knife replaces the arm bare.
Fear grows, and torment; and distracted pain
Must from sheer agony some respite find;
When some half-maddened miserable brain
Projects a God in his detesting mind.
God who made him—to the core all evil,
In his own image—and a God of Terror ;
A vast foul nightmare, an impending devil;
Compact of darkness, infamy, and error.
Some bestial woman, beaten by her mates,
In utter fear broke down the bar of reason;
Shrieked, crawled to die; delirium abates
By some good chance her terror in its season.
Her ravings picture the cessation of
Such life 2s she had. known: her mind conceives