Round Achilles rose The boiling wave tremendous, and the flood Beat on his shield and swept him, nor could he Stand firm upon his feet: he clutched an elm, Well-grown and lofty, but it fell uprooted And tore off all the bank, and reached across The pleasant waters with its matted boughs, And falling wholly in the channel, made A dam across it. Struggling from the swirl Achilles in alarm set out to fly Across the plain with all his speed: but yet The great god would not cease; he rose at him In a black crest, and chased divine Achilles To make him hold his hand, and to preserve The Trojans from destruction. Peleus' son Rushed back a spear-throw length with all the speed Of a black eagle, that great hunter which Has strength and pace above all things that fly. Like him he sped, and on his breast the bronze Rang grimly, as he swerved to dodge the River And ran, while on his trail the River came With a loud roar. And as a channel-maker Guides from a sunless spring the flow of water Among his crops and beds, and pick in hand Clears barriers from the conduit; as it runs, Before it all the pebbles roll away, And with a gurgle down the slope apace It slips, outrunning even him that guides it; So did the River's deluge still o'ertake Achilles, racer though he was: the gods Are forceful beyond men. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE LOVE SONNETS OF PROTEUS: 60. FAREWELL TO JULIET (9) by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT THE BLIND BOY by COLLEY CIBBER O SLEEP, MY BABE! by SARA COLERIDGE TO HIS CONSCIENCE by ROBERT HERRICK GYPSY MAN by JAMES LANGSTON HUGHES SONGS OF TRAVEL: 46. EVENSONG by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON THE TENT ON THE BEACH: 10. THE PALATINE by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER |