Explore "Ascension" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
I have been down in the darkest water- / Deep, deep down where no light could pierce; / Alone with the things that are bent on slaughter, / The mindless things that are cruel and fierce. / I have fought with fear in my wave-walled prison, / And begged for the beautiful boon of death; / But out of the billows my soul has risen / To glorify God with my latest breath.
There is no potion I have not tasted / Of all the bitters in life's large store; / And never a drop of the gall was wasted / That the lords of Karma saw fit to pour, / Though I cried as my Elder Brother before me, / ‘Father in heaven, let pass this cup! ' / And the only response from the still skies o'er me / Was the brew held close for my lips to sup.