The Sin of the Atom

God was lonely—silent spaceWas his sole abiding place—On the lips of darkness yetKiss of love had not been set;

Then by darkness, Power’s brideThis poor dust was vivified,And the first-born daughter, Light,Spun the planets from the night;

With her distaff sat to spinCords of force to hold them in;Cords remotest cycles feelIn the whirling of her wheel—

So, forever, toiling thus,Light has tarried virtuous;But the atom scornful stoodIn his new, free hardihood,

And before thy life beganOn this planet, conscious man,By the atom disobeyedWas the law envenomed made.

In the Eden of our raceSo was wrought the first disgrace;Niw the atom’s guilty stainsCourse, death-laden, through our veins:—

There our long and bitter plaint;There the leper’s fearful taint;There the sudden poison pangOf the cruel cobra’s fang;

There the atom’s shameless sinLet the rabies’ virus in,And his rebel hardihoodPoisoned nature’s perfect blood.

Mortal! so some prouder raceYet may mourn for thy disgrace,In some cycle vast and greatThat thou canst not estimate

Man! what knowest thou of man?What of God’s divinest plan?Fool! thou dost not, canst not knowHow life’s pulses throbbing go,—

Canst not tell how far thou artFrom the beat of nature’s heart;Nor what nobler veins thy sinLets the death-drop virus in.

Yet, in spite of all thou dost,Light is true, and God is just;Though temptation may not plead,Nor thy sorrows intercede,

Though the sting my vision sawWas of death that poisoned law,And the horror sin has doneThrough the deathless cycles run,

In some subtle, perfect wayOut of darkness comes the day;In some vast alembic, filledWith the false is truth distilled.