Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE DANCE OF DEATH, by SEM TOB


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE DANCE OF DEATH, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Lo! I am death! With aim as sure as steady
Last Line: Even then shall hope and joy our footsteps bless.
Alternate Author Name(s): Santob De Carrion; Santo, Don
Subject(s): Death; Jews; Dead, The; Judaism


Lo! I am Death! With aim as sure as steady,
All beings that are and shall be I draw near me.
I call thee,—I require thee, man, be ready!
Why build upon this fragile life?—Now hear me!
Where is the power that does not own me, fear me?
Who can escape me, when I bend my bow?
I pull the string,—thou liest in dust below,
Smitten by the barb my ministering angels bear me.

Come to the dance of Death! Come hither, even
The last, the lowliest—of all rank and station!
Who will not come shall be by scourges driven:
I hold no parley with disinclination.
List to yon friar who preaches of salvation,
And hie ye to your penitential post!
For who delays,—who lingers,—he is lost,
And handed O'er to hopeless reprobation.

I to my dance—my mortal dance—have brought
Two nymphs, all bright in beauty and in bloom.
They listened, fear-struck, to my songs, methought;
And truly, songs like mine are tinged with gloom.
But neither roseate hues nor flowers' perfume
Will now avail them,—nor the thousand charms
Of worldly vanity;—they fill my arms,—
They are my brides,—their bridal bed the tomb.

And since 'tis certain, then, that we must die,—
No hope, no chance, no prospect of redress,—
Be it our constant aim unswervingly
To tread God's narrow path of holiness:
For He is first, last, midst. O, let us press
Onwards! and when Death's monitory glance
Shall summon us to join his mortal dance,
Even then shall hope and joy our footsteps bless.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net