Classic Poem

A rush of lightning reddened
The dense, black, roaring rain;
The night leaped into daylight
Then back to night again.

And like one hurt in battle
When blows fall hot and blind,
The great oak trembled, tottered,
And leaned against the wind.

Then, with a sudden thunder,
Its cloudy head lay low—
Its thousand years were scattered
To nothing, at one blow.