Classic Poem

TO SUSPENSE .

I LL-BODING Fiend! How oft thy fiery breath
Hath stirred the storm of passion in my soul,
Until the waves of thought spurned all controul,
And swelled to a fierce Phlegethon! — Beneath
The wide expanse of yon eternal sky,
What hath the power to rack the feeling heart
Like thy keen-torturing vengeance? Where the smart,
Can match the brain-bewildering agony
Thy presence doth create? — My lot, through life,
Demon of dark uncertainty! hath been
To have sweet feelings maddened into strife
By thy bliss-blighting influence; — and each scene
Of beauty, shadowed by thy wing accursed! —
When shall I 'scape thy fangs? My heart — be still — or burst!