PROSPICE.
"Prospice," by Robert Browning (1812-89), is the greatest death song
ever written. It is a battle-song and a paean of victory.
"The journey is done, the summit attained,
And the strong man must go."
"I would hate that Death bandaged my eyes and forebore,
And bade me creep past."
"No! let me taste the whole of it"
"The reward of all."
This poem is included in this book because these lines are enough to
reconcile any one to any fate.
Fear death?--to feel the fog in my throat,
The mist in _my_ face,
When the snows begin, and the blasts denote
I am nearing the place,
The power of the night, the press of the storm,
The post of the foe;
Where he stands, the Arch Fear in a visible form,
Yet the strong man must go:
For the journey is done and the summit attained,
And the barriers fall,
Though a battle's to fight ere a guerdon be gained,
The reward of it all.
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