L'homme à la torche

 

How long hath thou carried wood coppered torch,

Whose emerald flames and blistering coals

Against thy trembling sturdy hands hath scorch

Whilst witnessed by all God’s uneasy souls?

 

Fervently steadfast, high above, blazes illume

Bridges over waters, dark and deep, we must cross,

Yet, seemingly blinded by the night’s gloom

And shy away within the Spanish moss.

 

Lacking fear and dishearten, thou maintain,

 Deterring shadow, the sentient ‘s bane,

Thou boldly boast copper torch and green light;

How long have thy held copper torch upright?