At Dawn
I. THE CAVEMAN
I live! And the scarlet sunrise is climbing the
mountain steep,
I live... And below, in the caverns, the rest
of my clansmen sleep;
But I—I am here, and chanting, I could slay a
beast with my hand,
And I thrill as the mist of the morning creeps up
from the rock-strewn land!
I live, I have strength for fighting—and courage to rend and slay, I live! And my eyes are lifting to gaze at the new-born day; And I pause, on the way to my hewn-out cave, though I know that she waits me there, My mate, with her eyes on the scarlet dawn, and the wind in her flame-like hair.
I live—and the joy of living leaps up in my searching eyes, I live, and my soul starts forward, to challenge the waking skies! Far down are the torrents roaring, far up are the clouds, unfurled; And I stand on the cliff, exultant, akin to the waking world.
The mists are gone, and an eagle sweeps down from the mountain high, And I wish that my arms were feathered and strong, that I, too, might fly; I live! I am one with the morning! Ah, I am a MAN, and free! And I shout aloud, and the scarlet dawn shouts back, on the gale, to me!