I strayed between life and death
A new species endued with animation
I was its creator and source
I played with light, thunder, waves
All would owe their being to me
Our dark world was but a plaything in my hands
But distant stars in worlds far away
Through the silent workings of immutable laws
Struck me off my feet
My success was torn apart
The unfinished, lost decree burnt away
Now to know it in my memory
The icy wall of the glacier overhung me
The abrupt sides of vast mountains were before me
I could see for miles, miles, miles
And a variety of feelings appeared to me again
The hurricane of enthusiasm was broken
And magnificent scenes elevated me from all littleness of feeling
There's nothing you can do
For the fall of man
But oh! imperial Nature; the force between when the sunlight is arising
No mortal could support the solemn silence of this glorious presence
And at once above the jagged vacance thick with ice
I knew I was not magnificent
