THE LORDS OF LIFE: 6. MERCURY by SAMUEL VALENTINE COLE

I SEE him cross the empty fields afar,
Along a pathway growing slowly dim;
His shining circle runs so near the rim
Of that vast wheel which bears Apollo's car,
Behold, the greater splendor mounts to mar
The lesser; in my glass there seems to swim
A merest globule answering to him;
Now lost—a wavering and uncertain star!
Mercurius! who sets the final seal
To weary eyes; who goes and comes again,
Bearing the messages of woe and weal:
Now wrathful like a lion in his den,
Now melting to the pitiful appeal
That mutely rises from the homes of men.

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...