You’ve seen him balanced with his staff,
Far up—and giving death the laugh?
The Juggler—confident and proud
Above the gaping, breathless crowd!
So in the gathering storm, he swayed—
The Forest Juggler—unafraid!
Schooled by the blasts of centuries,
Proudly he looked on lesser trees,
Rearing his mighty head on high
Against the red-streaked western sky.
Then broke the gale—the clouds unlocked,
And such a wind as never rocked
His stalwart trunk, now made him dance.
He swayed in ancient confidence
Till once he reached—too far! Then all
His shaft went toppling to the fall,
With grinding boughs and crunch and thud.
Upripped those gorgon-roots, the mud—
Wide-flung, left but a crater-hole
Where it had towered—that giant bole!
The wind has gone upon his way,
A patch of sky shows where he lay—
Who juggled long and fearlessly
Until a greater came than he.