Musings in Maoriland
The first match
The first match.
Ay, 'tis the same wild flame ablaze to-day
Which flash'd athwart the pristine garden's night,
When angels dropp'd a spark of sacred light
From heav'n's eternal lamp. The same rich ray
Which, falling, blazon'd all the starry way,
And strung a golden chain of planets bright
Across the azure archway in its flight,
Then, reaching earth, illumed the living clay.
The same wild flame now permeates and glows
As fresh through this old world as when it burst
On Eden's fruit. Ay, love's swift lightning goes
Through flesh and blood, as hotly as when first
The Prince of Darkness—Lucifer—arose
And struck the first bad match, but not the worst.