Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE DYING INDIAN, by JOSEPH WARTON Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: The dart of izdabel prevails! 'twas dipped / in double poison Last Line: I go! Great copac beckons me! Farewell! Subject(s): Death; Poisons And Poisoning; Statues; Dead, The | ||||||||
THE dart of Izdabel prevails! 'twas dipped In double poisonI shall soon arrive At the blest island, where no tigers spring On heedless hunters; where ananas bloom Thrice in each moon; where rivers smoothly glide. Nor thundering torrents whirl the light canoe Down to the sea: where my forefathers feast Daily on hearts of Spaniards!O my son, I feel the venom busy in my breast. Approach, and bring my crown, decked with the teeth Of that bold Christian who first dared deflower The virgins of the sun; and, dire to tell! Robbed Vitzipultzi's statue of its gems! I marked the spot where they interred this traitor, And once at midnight stole I to his tomb, And tore his carcass from the earth, and left it A prey to poisonous flies. Preserve this crown With sacred secrecy: if e'er returns Thy much-loved mother from the desert woods Where, as I hunted late, I hapless lost her, Cherish her age. Tell her I ne'er have worshipped With those that eat their God. And when disease Preys on her languid limbs, then kindly stab her With thine own hands, nor suffer her to linger, Like Christian cowards, in a life of pain. I go! great Copac beckons me! farewell! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A FRIEND KILLED IN THE WAR by ANTHONY HECHT FOR JAMES MERRILL: AN ADIEU by ANTHONY HECHT TARANTULA: OR THE DANCE OF DEATH by ANTHONY HECHT CHAMPS D?ÇÖHONNEUR by ERNEST HEMINGWAY NOTE TO REALITY by TONY HOAGLAND THE ENTHUSIAST, OR, THE LOVER OF NATURE by JOSEPH WARTON |
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