Ah, no; thou art no such thing. Thou in the Bosom of thy Father bask'd and liv'd, and Mov'd thousands of years ago. Yes, e'er this Mundane sphere from chaos sprung, or sun, or Moon, or stars, or world was fram'd; Before the Sons of God for joy did shout, or e'er the Morning stars together sung--thou liv'd'st. Thou liv'dst to live again. Ah, no! thou liv'd But to continue life eternal--to Live and move, and act eternally. Yes; Long as a spirit, God or world exists; From everlasting, eternal, without end! And whilst thou dwelt in thy paternal home, And with thy brethren shar'd extatic bliss, All that a spirit could, not clothed in flesh, Thou through the vista of unnumbered years Saw'st through the glimmering veil that thou would'st Dwell in flesh--just as the Gods. Tread in the Footsteps of thine elder brother, Jesus-- The "Prince of Peace," for whom a body was prepared. Thou heard; thou look'd; thou long'd; thou pray'd; Thou hop'd for this, at length it came; and thou Appeared on this terraqueous ball, From the hands of Eloheim--eternal As himself--part of thy God. A small spark Of Deity, struck from the fire of his eternal blaze. Thou cam'st! thou cam'st to live! of life thou art A living monument; to it thou still Dost cling--eternal life! To thee all else Are straw and chaff, and bubbles light as air; And will be all, until thou gain'st once more Thy Father's breast; raised, quickened, immortal; Body, spirit, all; a God among the Gods forever bless'd. Abby, and hast thou dared to launch thy Fragile barque on truth's tempestuous sea; To meet the pelting storm and proudly brave The dangers of the raging main; and through The rocks and shoals, and yawning gulfs pursue The nearest way to life, in hopes that thou Woulds't speedily gain a seat among the Gods? See'st thou the multitudes who sail in Guilded barques, and gently float along the Silvery stream? Downward they go with sweet, Luxurious ease, and scarce a zephyr moves The tranquil bosom of the placid stream. Unconscious of the greatness of the prize They might obtain, they glide along in peace; And as they never soar aloft, nor mount On eagle's wings, nor draw aside the veil Of other worlds, they know none else than this-- No other joys. They dream away their life, And die forgot, just as the butterfly, They gaily flutter on; today they live-- Tomorrow are no more. And though, like thee In them is the eternal spark, thousands Of weary years must roll along er'e they Regain the prize they might with thee have shar'd. Regain it? Never! no! They may come where Thou wert, but never can they with thee share Extatic bliss.