How long, O lion, hast thou fleshless lain? What rapt thy fierce and thirsty eyes away? First came the vulture; worms, heat, wind, and rain Ensued, and ardors of the tropic day. I know not -- if they spared it thee -- how long The canker sate within thy monstrous mane, Till it fell piecemeal, and bestrewed the plain; Or, shredded by the storming sands, was flung Again to earth; but now thine ample front, Whereon the great frowns gathered, is laid bare; The thunders of thy throat, which erst were wont To scare the desert, are no longer there; Thy claws remain, but worms, wind, rain, and heat Have sifted out the substance of thy feet. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...EVENING CLOUDS by FRANCIS LEDWIDGE BISHOP HATTO [AND THE RATS] by ROBERT SOUTHEY AMORETTI: 34 by EDMUND SPENSER OPEN MY EYES by ALICE E. BAILEY UNSOPHISTICATED WISHES, BY MISS JEMINA INGOLDSBY, AGED 15 by RICHARD HARRIS BARHAM |