Ye children Adam's of earth forgotten Who unto earth shall again return You are my own, be it not forgotten I am the penalty sin did earn
O man, time's guest With my grasp I reach thee From east to west And by voices teach thee With scripture's word in the master's name From air and water earth and flame You build and dwell Like the sparrows building In sunny summer Their fragile nest Securely feeling In shady shielding They sing so joyful in happy rest
But sudden gust Of the tempest shatters The tiny crust Of their nest in tatters The merry song Heard so short before With grief is silenced forevermore
Like pigeons Coming in anxious calling You sigh for morn With today not through When unbethought Like a trap door falling The earth unlocked itself for you You disappear Where no light is nearing Soon memory dear Is no more endearing And new lit moon From it's silvered sky Again sees others arrive and fly
In circling dances so lightly swinging You follow wildly amusement's thread With myrtle blooming and music ringing But solemn I on the threshold tread
The dance is shocked And the clang is wailing The wreath is wrecked And the bride is paling The end of splendor And joy and might Is only sorrow Tears and blight
I am the mighty Who has the power Till yet a mightier shall appear In deepest pit On the highest tower My chilling spirit is ever near
Those plagues of night And of desolation Whose breath of blight May annul a nation They slay the victims Which I select Whom shield and armor Cannot protect
I wrap the wing round The polar tempest And calm the waves Ere they reach the strand I crush the schemes On dynastic conquest And wrench the club From the tyrant's hand I erase chase Like the hour just passing And race on race With their works amassing Like heaving waves In my footsteps flow Till last no ripples Their murmur show
'Gainst me in vain Are you wit and letters 'Gainst me nor weapons Nor arts prevail I freedom give to the slave in letters His ruler's will I in irons nail
I lead the battle And armies tumble Like slaughtered cattle While cannons rumble And never rise from their sudden fall Until alarmed by the judgment call
I wave my hand and With whirlwinds sweeping All life on earth to that place doth fly Where not a sound to the ear is creeping Where not a tongue moves to make reply My foot meanders And kings and heroes And princes lofty in might and lust Are all transformed to a handful dust
Then search with rigor Your mind's desire Then probe in terror Your soul's intent With hands and hearts Clean and pure aspire To him who knows what Within you meant
Yet thither mortals Your way is wending Where on the portals Till time be ending There stands this sentence Without reprieve Here all shall enter And none shall leave
Then wiped away Are all tears forever All wounds removed By the healing hand And midst corpses and heirs I never With torch inverted And quenched shall stand In darkness rife But the torch upturning By flames of life I restore its burning And the Seraphic With you unite In songs of praise At the throne of light