| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895. | | | | Prospice | | | | Robert Browning (1812–89) | | | | | | FEAR death?—to feel the fog in my throat, | | | The mist in my face, | | | When the snows begin, and the blasts denote | | | I am nearing the place, | | | The power of the night, the press of the storm, | 5 | | The post of the foe; | | | Where he stands, the Arch Fear in a visible form, | | | Yet the strong man must go: | | | For the journey is done and the summit attain’d, | | | And the barriers fall, | 10 | | Though a battle’s to fight ere the guerdon be gain’d, | | | The reward of it all. | | | I was ever a fighter, so—one fight more, | | | The best and the last! | | | I would hate that death bandaged my eyes, and forbore, | 15 | | And bade me creep past. | | | No! let me taste the whole of it, fare like my peers | | | The heroes of old, | | | Bear the brunt, in a minute pay glad life’s arrears | | | Of pain, darkness and cold. | 20 | | For sudden the worst turns the best to the brave, | | | The black minute’s at end, | | | And the elements’ rage, the fiend-voices that rave, | | | Shall dwindle, shall blend, | | | Shall change, shall become first a peace out of pain. | 25 | | Then a light, then thy breast, | | | O thou soul of my soul! I shall clasp thee again, | | | And with God be the rest! | | | | |
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