The Poet's Nightmare

When from my fellows to the grove I stray'd
In solitude and dusk to meditate
On things forbidden, and to pierce the veil
Of seeming good and seeming beauteousness
That covers o'er the tragedy of truth

Hither and thither through infinity
Of light and darkness, strangely intermix'd
Wherein all entity had consciousness
Without th' accustom'd outward shape of life
Of these swift circling currents was my soul
Free from the flesh, a true constituent part
Nor felt I less myself, for want of form
Then clear'd the mist, and o'er a star-strown scene
Divine and measureless, I gaz'd in awe
Alone in space, I view'd a feeble fleck
Of silvern light, marking the narrow ken
Which mortals call the boundless universe

Borne on the wings of stark immensity
A touch of rhythm celestial reach'd my soul
Thrilling me more with horror than with joy

Omnia risus et omnia pulvis et omnia nihil