The Gruesome Orchestra

The Gruesome Orchestra Ah! The gruesome orchestra How gruesome, how ancient How slow, how mechanical: How diverse its players! A Hedgehog, a Toad And Lizard Played. Played the violin the Hedgehog Played The harp the Toad Played The strings and chords The Lizard And once begun it played And played And played That gruesome orchestra. And red dusk came And then the stars Were lighted by the night That ushered them on his Car, wheeled car Yet Still Still played the gruesome orchestra And the moon smiled But ah! for the gruesome orchestra The heavens littered were With clouds that darker Than the night Loomed Dense and charged How dense and charged Those clouds that frowned! And soon The first thunder clap The lightning over the high rocks The cliff of rock The forked tongue to the sea And yet Yet played the gruesome Orchestra Undeterred, unafraid, It played and played And played That gruesome orchestra. And how fell the rains And thunder after thunder Clap Increased and lightning More dense grew: The more rain fell The more it fell The more thunder it grew The more lightning it grew And yet And yet There played unceasing Played Drenched and lighted The gruesome orchestra. How the thunder light Lit The faces pale of The players of the Gruesome orchestra! How dripped they from Head to toe! And shone their eyes Besmirched with rain And frost and mist Of cold In that time cold And frost The gruesome orchestra! And yet it played And played And the night passed Hour after hour It passed The time and played As yet The gruesome orchestra! How the thunder light Lit The faces pale of The players of the Gruesome orchestra! How dripped they from Head to toe! And shone their eyes Besmirched with rain And frost and mist Of cold In that time cold And frost The gruesome orchestra! And yet it played And played The rains more dense More wild the winds Let loose by Zephyr aged: Then midnight struck And after that One o’clock – more and Mire hour after Hour The Palace Moor in the clock Struck Hour after hour But ah! in old Valletta struck! Yet here too Time Hour after hour Hour by hour Passed. So life, So life, My Monsignor, so life. But ah! Time Cruel Time! At last the hours grew The tempest green in Face became as white And With Fear thrilled and Trembled full And more and more As the Time passed As hour after hour Struck The tempest less and less It grew Yet played the same The gruesome orchestra! We, too, We too In life Still play When year after Year Steal by: We heed not We notice not And play As did The Gruesome Orchestra! But ah! if stubborn be The Gruesome Orchestra Time more stubborn be More relentless shines Ah! Dawn will come Soon come The hours passed Have passed One after one Yet slipped away And though Stubborn and fear less There played The Gruesome Orchestra It did not stay Much less turn back The hands of Time! Struck Fate’s great clock Hour after hour Accomplice of the Time And ages come and yet To come! Relentless, clinical, Time passed its way With scythe in hand It did its work And more it did The more relentless grew And more And more Blood thirsty grew Yet played Now faint now slow The aged The ancient Gruesome Orchestra! Still the Will’s flame Still lingered on In mirror of Immortality: For there it be And to it must transform: Till Science and Knowledge stop This transformation to Psyche’ Where change things and Yet Remain just the same Transformed: Where Immortality as lost In the weather and storm Yet Still transformed the last of laughs It has Though Time relentless be! Then Came the time when Slow Slow Slower The Gruesome Orchestra it Played: Already gray the skies were Turned From the night dark and black: And thin air faded As soon as it had come Transformed not lost Not there, yet there All still Transformed The Gruesome Orchestra! The winds at last They ceased The rains the Heavy rains And Downpours ceased The winds they bated Bit by it And bit by bit The tempest fell apart! Ah! transformation was At work: But once begun – for Long all long At work it was Silent at first Then bolder transformation Grew And more and more And more and more The Transformation grew! Black had the night All been How had the tempests Roared How swelled Ocean and Sea! How wild the winds Let loose by Zephyr old! How ravaged ships and Vessels The tempest green How many towns Under the strokes Of the wild lightning Thunder Trembled, shook! How people from Their dreams in The Sub-Conscious rose And ghosts and shrouds How walked the streets And outside of the towns! And corpses of the Civilization old In the new civilization of Future Immortality The grave door opened Yawned And corpses by thousands Grew! Yet played And played Its part to full To last The Gruesome Orchestra: Till At the last resistless it Pale grew More pale More pale And in proportion faded Too The Gruesome Orchestra! And Dawn at last Smiled on the Earth The stars went down And fallen was the Night: Light, gray of light Was everywhere Land. Ocean, Sea: And there played not At last The Gruesome Orchestra But Transformed yes, It played But not in Dawn!