The Nose by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Lyrics

       &nbspYe souls unus'd to lofty verse
       &nbsp       &nbspWho sweep the earth with lowly wing,
       &nbspLike sand before the blast disperse—
       &nbsp       &nbspA Nose! a mighty Nose I sing!
As erst Prometheus stole from heaven the fire
       &nbspTo animate the wonder of his hand;
Thus with unhallow'd hands, O Muse, aspire,
       &nbspAnd from my subject snatch a burning brand!
So like the Nose I sing—my verse shall glow—
Like Phlegethon my verse in waves of fire shall flow!


       &nbspLight of this once all darksome spot
       &nbsp       &nbspWhere now their glad course mortals run,
       &nbspFirst-born of Sirius begot
       &nbsp       &nbspUpon the focus of the Sun—
I'll call thee ——! for such thy earthly name—
       &nbspWhat name so high, but what too low must be?
Comets, when most they drink the solar flame
       &nbspAre but faint types and images of thee!
Burn madly, Fire! o'er earth in ravage run,
Then blush for shame more red by fiercer —— outdone!

       &nbspI saw when from the turtle feast
       &nbsp       &nbspThe thick dark smoke in volumes rose!
       &nbspI saw the darkness of the mist
       &nbsp       &nbspEncircle thee, O Nose!
Shorn of thy rays thou shott'st a fearful gleam
       &nbsp(The turtle quiver'd with prophetic fright)
Gloomy and sullen thro' the night of steam:—
       &nbspSo Satan's Nose when Dunstan urg'd to flight,
Glowing from gripe of red-hot pincers dread
Athwart the smokes of Hell disastrous twilight shed!


       &nbspThe Furies to madness my brain devote—
       &nbsp       &nbspIn robes of ice my body wrap!
       &nbspOn billowy flames of fire I float,
       &nbsp       &nbspHear ye my entrails how they snap?
Some power unseen forbids my lungs to breathe!
       &nbspWhat fire-clad meteors round me whizzing fly!
I vitrify thy torrid zone beneath,
       &nbspProboscis fierce! I am calcined! I die!
Thus, like great Pliny, in Vesuvius' fire,
I perish in the blaze while I the blaze admire.