The Human Abstract

Pity would be no more
If we did not make somebody poor
And mercy no more could be
If all were as happy as we

And mutual fear brings peace
Till the selfish loves increase
Then cruelty knits the snare
And spreads his baits with care

He sits down with holy fears
And waters the ground with tears
Then humility takes its root
Underneath his foot

Soon spreads the dismal shade
Of mistery over his head
And the caterpillar and fly
Feed on the mistery

And it bears the fruit deceit
Ruddy and sweet to eat
And the raven his nest has made
In its thickest shade

The Gods of the earth and see
Sought into nature to find this tree
But their search was all in vain
There grows one in the human brain