Samuel Taylor Coleridge — The Nose

       &nbspYe souls unus'd to lofty verse        &nbsp       &nbspWho sweep the earth with lowly wing,        &nbspLike sand before the blast disperse—        &nbsp       &nbspA Nose! a mighty Nose I sing! As erst Prometheus stole from heaven the fire        &nbspTo animate the wonder of his hand; Thus with unhallow'd hands, O Muse, aspire,        &nbspAnd from my subject snatch a burning brand! So like the Nose I sing—my verse shall glow— Like Phlegethon my verse in waves of fire shall flow!        &nbspLight of this once all darksome spot        &nbsp       &nbspWhere now their glad course mortals run,        &nbspFirst-born of Sirius begot        &nbsp       &nbspUpon the focus of the Sun— I'll call thee ——! for such thy earthly name—        &nbspWhat name so high, but what too low must be? Comets, when most they drink the solar flame        &nbspAre but faint types and images of thee! Burn madly, Fire! o'er earth in ravage run, Then blush for shame more red by fiercer —— outdone!        &nbspI saw when from the turtle feast        &nbsp       &nbspThe thick dark smoke in volumes rose!        &nbspI saw the darkness of the mist        &nbsp       &nbspEncircle thee, O Nose! Shorn of thy rays thou shott'st a fearful gleam        &nbsp(The turtle quiver'd with prophetic fright) Gloomy and sullen thro' the night of steam:—        &nbspSo Satan's Nose when Dunstan urg'd to flight, Glowing from gripe of red-hot pincers dread Athwart the smokes of Hell disastrous twilight shed!        &nbspThe Furies to madness my brain devote—        &nbsp       &nbspIn robes of ice my body wrap!        &nbspOn billowy flames of fire I float,        &nbsp       &nbspHear ye my entrails how they snap? Some power unseen forbids my lungs to breathe!        &nbspWhat fire-clad meteors round me whizzing fly! I vitrify thy torrid zone beneath,        &nbspProboscis fierce! I am calcined! I die! Thus, like great Pliny, in Vesuvius' fire, I perish in the blaze while I the blaze admire.