Borne to the rocky bed's extremest brow,
The flood leaps headlong, nor a moment waits;--
To join the whirlpool deep and vast below,
The saltless ocean hurries through the straits.
Hoarse roars the broken wave; and upward driv'n,
Dashes in air;--dissolving vapours press'd
Confound the troubled elements with heav'n:--
Earth quakes beneath;--heart trembles in the breast.
With steps uncertain, to a jutting rock,
To gaze upon the immense abyss I hie;
And all my senses feel a horrid shock
As down the steep I turn my dizzy eye.
On cloudy steams I take a flight sublime,
Leaving the world and nature's works behind;
And as the pure empyreal heights I climb,
Reflect with rapture on the Immortal Mind.