Universal Dissolution

My soul, why art thou sad at the decay
Of this frail frame,4
, this feeble house of clay?5
?
What can be expected from the humble birth
Of this frail fabric,6
, but to fall to earth?
The bubbling fountain, being by nature led,
Will rise no higher than her crystal head;7
;
Though many marble aqueducts it fill,
Yet in a constant level it runs still.
So mortal man, even from his very birth,
Runs weeping on, then creeps into the earth.
Those gorgeous flowers which the valleys crown,
That by the impartial scytheman8
 are mown down:9
:
Trust me, they seem to hang their heads and weep,
’Cause, in their causes,10
, they so soon must sleep.
So man to his first principles11
 must turn,12
,
And take a nap in black Oblivion’s urn.
Triumphant laurel,13
, whose unconquered boughs
Encircles poets’ and the illustrious brows
Of emperors:14
: how soon, alas, we see
Her verdant15
 leaves all withered filemot16
 to be.
E’en so, man’s youth and beauty doth decay,
His heat and moisture cools and dries to clay.17
.
The stately cedar18
 that aspires so high,
Scorning the clouds, threat’ning to scale the sky,
For all her pride, a kernel19
 was her birth,
Which shows, at last, she must return to earth.
Though she the living kill and dead preserve,20
,
Yet can she not from death herself reserve.
The cypress21
 that doth mourn for us in vain
Shall be cut down and never sprout again.
So man, being tied to his Creator’s laws,
Must taste of death and shrink unto his cause.
The towering, quick-eyed eagle, that alone
Outfaces22
Phoebus23
 in his blazing throne,

And, by that trial, bastard birds disclaim,24
,
Scorning they should be honored with her name;
Yet she and hers to dust must all resolve,25
,
And sad obscurity must them involve.26
.
So miserable man doth draw his breath
Twixt hope and fear, then sinks into the earth.
The phoenix on her lofty altar lies
And willingly a virgin27
 victim dies;
Her gold and purple plumes28
 to ashes turns
As in her aromatic pyre she burns.29
.
So man, that to eternity aspires,
Conquered by death, into his cause retires.
The snowy swan upon the trembling breast
Of silver Thames30
—how poor a time of rest
She doth enjoy—soon droops her milk-white wings,
While sadly she her epicedium31
sings.32
.
So while man strives t’eternize33
 others’ glory,
Conspiring Death and Time cuts off his story.34
.
The stag that trips it o’er the lawn in state,35
,
Scorning the ground, is subject unto fate.
Even that brave hart36
 which Blackmore37
 once did hold,
Whose snowy neck encircled was with gold,
All ages being desired, for Caesar’s sake,
To spare his life whene’er they38
 did him take;39
;
But yet, for all this conquering king’s desire,
In tears he40
 did his vital breath expire.41
.
So man, that enters in’s42
 sad mother’s fears,
As he begins, his exit makes: in tears.
That beast which poisoned waters drinks with scorn,
Because she wears a cordial43
 in her horn,44
,
From putrefaction45
 she her being drew;46
;
Corruption, then, at last,47
, will have his due.
So man (alas) no cure can find in death,
When He that gave it takes away his48
 breath.
The king of beasts49
 that doth the forest range,
And, at his pleasure, doth his pasture change,

And (like our Hydra)50
) makes his will his laws,
Tearing his vassals51
 with his cruel claws,
As other creatures hath his terror felt,
So Death will do by him, as he hath dealt.
So domineering man, his trophies52
 must
Ere long be read53
 and seen in naught but dust.
That huge leviathan54
 that plays and sports
And makes mad reaks in Neptune’s azure courts,55
,
E’en he, whose fellow56
 was, by fate’s direction,
Feigned57
 to be powdered ’gainst the Resurrection,58
,
That son of pride59
 on the forsaken shores,
Out of his element, his life outroars.60
.
So man, though he all creatures else transcend
In sighs and groans (ah me!), his life must end.
The swiftest creature61
 that’s below the moon,
Which saved Arion’s life62
 (alas), how soon
Her race63
 will end; even in a little time
She must return again to dirt or slime.
So man, his destiny can ne’er outrun,
The cruel Parcae64
 cuts: man’s life is done.
The little remora65
 that ne’er will fail
To stop the proudest ship that’s under sail,
When Death doth summon her, she must away;
For all her art, she can’t make time to stay.66
.
So man, that strives to blur67
 another’s fame,
Death comes the while68
 and blots69
 out his own name.

Those cities that the orient70
 kingdoms gracest,71
,
Beneath their ruins (sadly) lies defacest:
As72
 Nineveh, Persepolis the fair,
And Babylon73
 (so famous!), all despair
Of ever being restored again; and now
We see that all to time and fate must bow.
So wretched man, whose structure is of dust,74
,
After his period’s75
 past, he molder76
 must,
And this, our globe of earth, ere77
 long shall burn,
And all her pomp and pride to cinders78
turn.79
.
Then, my impatient soul, what canst thou say,
Seeing all sublunary80
 things decay?
Nay, mark Aurora,81
, in her youthful pride,
Her purple curtains newly drawn aside,
As when her blesséd infant she brought forth,
The fair Astraea82
 of unparalleled worth.
Bright is the one, but brighter is the other;
The daughter infinitely excels the mother.
Light from mine eyes, I wish may never part,
But thou, sweet Truth, shalt harbor in my heart.
Yet this most glorious creature, Light, soon fades
And is enveloped in night’s dark shades.
So though man’s soul’s a beam of heavenly light,
Yet must his body sleep in death and night.
Nay, Cynthia’s83
 borrowed splendency84
 shall cease,
And she shall leave85
 to wane and to increase;

Nor shall her changes make our ocean rise
Or fall, or her sad influence close our eyes.
Hers and her brother’s86
 fiery shafts no more
Shall make poor Niobes87
 their loss deplore.
The glitt’ring harbinger88
 of cheerful day,89
,
That leads the sable Empress90
 on her way,
Bearing a torch her ebon91
 coach beside,
As she, triumphant, round our orb92
 doth ride,
E’en she shall be amazed93
 and lose her way,
Not able to conduct the night or day.
Nor shall that sly thief Hermes ever keep,94
,
Behind th’illustrious sun beams, playing bo peep;
His light shall be obscured no more with light,
But all his knaveries95
 shall come in sight.96
.
The fount97
 and center of all light, the sun,
Round whom those orbs98
 perpetually do run,
Shall all his influence and light contract,
Which will amazéd Nature quite distract.
Auspicious Jupiter,99
, poor mortal’s friend,
His mild aspect to earth no more shall send.
Fierce Mars100
 his flagrant rapier101
 shall put up,
Seeing total Nature drinks the selfsame102
 cup
And that malignant, melancholy star103
That, to do mischief, could discern104
 so far
As sweet Hibernie105
 where I first had life,106
,
Now quite destroyed by Atropos’s107
keen108
 knife.

Ah, cruel stars, not me alone annoy,
But my poor country too, they109
 must destroy.
But those conjunctions110
 too ere long shall cease;
When all’s to chaos turned, there will be peace.
The six proud Pleiades111
 shall their beauty hide,
As well as Sisyphus his bashful bride.112
.
Then shall Orion’s113
 harp no music make,
But such as shall the stoutest114
 courage shake.
Those tenderhearted sisters115
 shall no more
Their brother Hyas’s hasty fate deplore,
Showering from their sad eyes such floods of rain
That oft the plowman’s hopes and labor’s vain.
The vulture116
 that did stop man’s high design,
Must stoop to fate and cease to fly or shine.
And all the gems of Ariadne’s crown117
Shall lose their sparkling luster and drop down.
Nor shall pale Asoph118
 evermore appear
At the revolving of four hundred year;
For though her absence we have long endured,
Yet shall she be eternally obscured.
Bold Sirius119
 no more shall show her face,
As she doth use when Phoebus is in place.
But these, and all the fixéd orbs of light,
Shall be involved once more in horrid night.
Like robes, the elements120
 shall folded lie
In the vast wardrobe of eternity.
Then my unsettled soul, be more resolved,121
,
Seeing all this universe must be dissolved.122
.

Universal Dissolution,1
, Made When I Was with Child, of my 15th Child,
my Son, John,2
, I Being, Everyone Thought, in a
Consumption,3
, 1648

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Globes of Earth and Light

The Phoenix

The Unicorn

Vegetable Love