"IN place of the heart, a serpent; Rage -- for the mind's command; And eye aflame with wildness; A weapon in the hand; "A brow with midnight clouded; On the lips a cynic smile That tells of a curse unmatchable -- Born of a sin most vile. "Of longing, or hope, or virtue, No vestige may there be; You, even in vice inhuman -- What can you want of me? "You in its maddest moment The Deepest Pit designed, -- Let loose to sow confusion In the order of mankind; "Here Hatred found you crawling Like vermin, groveling, prone, Filled you with blood of others And poisoned all your own. "Your very thoughts are fiendish -- Smoke of the fires of Hell. Weird as you are, how is it I seem to know you well? "Why with your wild delirium Do you infect my sleep? Why with my daily footstep An equal measure keep?" . . . The monster mutely beckons me Back with his ghostly hand, And dreading his fearful answer I heed the grim command. "Nay, softly," he says; "I pray thee, Silence thy frightened moan, And wipe the sweat from thy forehead; My kinsman thou, my own! "Look at me well, good cousin; Such wert thou fashioned of! Thou, too, wouldst me resemble Without that magic -- Love!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...NOTES FOR THE FIRST LINE OF A SPANISH POEM by JAMES GALVIN CHAMBER MUSIC: 11 by JAMES JOYCE ON THE PROPOSAL TO ERECT A MONUMENT IN ENGLAND TO LORD BYRON by EMMA LAZARUS SURFACES AND MASKS; 4 by CLARENCE MAJOR SORROWING LOVE by KATHERINE MANSFIELD |