Pansies (Lawrence)/Dies Illa
DIES ILLA
Dies iræ, dies illa
solvet sæclum in favilla—
solvet sæclum in favilla—
Day of wrath, O day of warning!
Flame devours the world.
Flame devours the world.
It does, even if we don't see it.
For there are all sorts of flame:
slow, creeping cold ones
that burn inwardly
like flickering cancers.
For there are all sorts of flame:
slow, creeping cold ones
that burn inwardly
like flickering cancers.
And the slow cold flames
may burn for long years
before they've eaten through the joists and the girders
and the house comes down, with a subsiding crash.
may burn for long years
before they've eaten through the joists and the girders
and the house comes down, with a subsiding crash.