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I.

 

Where breaks the choppy main against vast stones

Entombed by tides, huge wreck of spire and fane

Scarce over-topped by surges of the foam –

Or peeking, here or there, above the waves –

Of long ago did sea-god carve his manse

Out of an island’s hills, to house his mate,

And grimly broke the earth with triple lance,

Cutting three moats to guard where Cleito lay.

And to his offpsring, Atlas and nine lords,

Dominion gave the god: from beach to beach,

All isle’s extent – and bade them shun the sword

In favor of fair mercies, for to teach

    A law abiding, and wisdom serene,

    To mortal flesh, of heart which sinful seemed.

 

 

II.

 

Unknown was wickedness whilst sage-kings reigned;

And ’neath a star of science prospered man

Upon that isle: What engineer ordained

Nature performed – and soon the barren land

Produced an easy crop for teeming towns.

Transports of sea and air slid near and far;

Bridges and tunnels linked the zones of ground;

And palace tow’rs and citadels touched stars.

A hundred Solons preached the wisest laws,

A thousand poets touched a million souls.

No man despised was, though he have his flaws –

No man made god, however wise or bold.

    And ’cross the world, Atlantis on the lips

    Did speak of virtue, rule, and fellowship.

 

 

III.

 

So ages passed… Invention’s waxing might

Extended trade and influence far off;

And wealth ne’er dreamed before, by day and night,

Poured toward that isle, and made each jaw to drop,

Each soul to thrill in giddiness! Now rose

A temple – not to gods, but low delights:

A garden where all pleasures man might know,

Rich chambers where rich dainties should he bite…

And overseas, now ships of war ’gan sail

To Europe, Ind, Afrique, and western worlds,

To place in thrall, in servitude and jail,

Old wights and young: men, women, boys and girls.

    And by degrees did cruelty invade

    That island’s heart – and all lands grew afraid.

 

 

IV.

 

So swift and headlong ran the pleasure-chase,

And sharper stung harsh whip upon the back

Of drudge and slave: a frenzied, bloody race

Which brought so many lives to woe and wrack.

More tall than ever towered gilded spire;

More vicious grew the people, low and high,

While, left neglected, guttered altar fire,

And no more sacrifice be-smoked the sky.

So isle to carnal riot and to vice

Had fall’n a prey, like corpse the maggots ate –

For tutored not on good of common life,

Each mistaught soul did steadily degrade.

    And seeking each for self, no soul did heed

    Dark wonders, portents, in the sky and sea.

 

 

V.

 

Grim months of omens… then upon a morn

The earth ’gan shudder, whilst the grasping waves

Did crash and thunder higher up the shores,

And black and red the heavens grew apace.

What cries of panic! Awful shook the land,

And mothers clutched their children to their breasts

As sea-cold froth crept far beyond the strand;

And ’gainst the walls the roaring surge did press –

’Til crashing through, each soul was drowned or crushed

As fault cracked open down the island’s length:

A chasm black, through which the waters rushed!

Unheeded screams rose, while wild ocean’s strength

    Did cover isle in tossing, rolling rage

    To seal that ruin ’til the last of days.

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(The Course of Empire: Desolation by Thomas Cole)

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