The City In The Sea

Lo! Death has reared himself a throneIn a strange city lying aloneLo! a strange town, lying aloneDeath has reared himself a throneFar down in the westWhere the good, bad, worst, and the best have gone to their eternal restThere, shrines and towers:Death has reared himself a throneTime-eaten towers that tremble notresemble nothing, nothing that is oursDown, down in that town, shall settle hence:Hell rising from its throne, no earthly moans,Shall do it reverence.No rays from heaven coming downOn the long night-time of that townBut light from out the lurid seaStreams up the turrets silentlyGleams up the pinnacles far and freeUp domes -- up spires -- up kingly halls --Up fanes -- up Babylon-like walls --No swellings tell that winds may beUpon some far-off happy seasNo heavings hint that winds may beOn seas less hideously serene.But lo, a stir is in the air!The wave -- there is a movement there!As if the towers had thrust aside,In slightly sinking, the dull tide,Acquiescently beneath the skyThe melancholy waters lieThe waves now have a redder glowThe hours are breathing faint and lowAnd when, amid no earthly moansDown, down in that town, shall settle hence,Hell, rising from a thousand thrones.Shall do it reverence.Down, down in that town shall settle hence,Hell, rising from its throne, no earthly moans,Shall do it reverence.There are open fanes and gaping gravesYawn level with the luminous wavesBut not the riches there that lieIn each idol's diamond eyeNot the gaily-jewelled deadTempt the waters from their bedSo blend the turrets, shadows thereThat all seem pendulous in airWhile from a tower in the townDeath looks downBut lo, a stir is in the air!The waves have now a redder glowThe hours are breathing faint and lowAnd when amid no earthly moans,Down, down in that town, shall settle hence:Hell, rising from a thousand thrones,Shall do it reverence.Far down within the dim westWhere the good and the bad andThe worst and the bestHave gone to their eternal rest.Waves have nowA red glowHours breathe lowNo men moan[lyrics were adapted from the poem 'The City In the Sea' by Edgar Allen Poe]