If you ask why my heart so swells with rage And why, on its pliant neck, my head is unbowed; It is that I boast of Antaeus' lineage, And hurl back at the conqueror his thunderous arrows. Yes, I am one the Avenger has possessed, And he has stamped my brow with his fevered mouth, Beneath the pallor of Abel, bloodstained alas, Rises the relentless flush of Cain, my brother! The last one, Jehovah, vanquished by your genius, Who, from the depths of hell, cried "Tyranny!" He is my father Dagon or forebear Belus . . . In the waters of Cocytus three times they plunged me down; Now, as sole protector of the Amalekite, my mother, The ancient dragon's teeth I have sown again. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE LOVER IN HELL by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET CONTRA MORTEM: THE STONE by HAYDEN CARRUTH O DREAMS, O DESTINATIONS by CECIL DAY LEWIS DELUSION by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE RIVALS by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON IN THE JEWISH SYNAGOGUE AT NEWPORT by EMMA LAZARUS STUDY FOR A GEOGRAPHICAL TRAIL; 1. SEATTLE by CLARENCE MAJOR THE SLAVE TRADE: VIEW FROM THE MIDDLE PASSAGE by CLARENCE MAJOR SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: MRS. CHARLES BLISS by EDGAR LEE MASTERS |