Shokran - Crotalus lyrics

No life in earth, or air, or sky The sunbeams, broken silently On the bared rocks around me lie Cold rocks with half-warmed lichens scarred And scales of moss; and scarce a yard Away, one long strip, yellow-barred Lost in a cleft! 'Tis but a stride To reach it, thrust its roots aside And lift it on thy stick astride! For round thee, thrilling air and space A chattering terror fills the place! A sound as of dry bones that stir In the dead Valley! By yon fir The locust stops its noonday whir! The wild bird hears; smote with the sound As if by bullet brought to ground On broken wing, dips, wheeling round! The hare, transfixed, with trembling lip